None Of It Was Ever Wasted
by RomanRuler
Summary: He came back safe. In fact they all did. After one of the worse nights ever, Chris and Ashley somehow walk away the happiest they've ever been. Starts from the lodge explosion onwards. Will include the entire cast, but the story is mainly focused on Chris and Ashley. Chrashley fluff galore!
1. We're Safe

**Hey guys! So I just rewatched a play through of Until Dawn, and wanted to write a fanfiction of Chris and Ashley's relationship! For this fanfiction, it's assumed that everyone was saved, and will obviously contain spoilers. I plan on updating this fanfiction every Tuesday and Thursday, with maybe an occasional extra chapter on Saturdays/Sundays if I can get an extra one written up. Other than that, enjoy!**

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The five of them were in the main living room of the lodge, with a number of Wendigos surrounding them. Chris looked around at his friends, who, much like him were standing deathly still. They all knew what would happen if the Wendigos saw them move, and none of them were willing to test the Wendigos on their reflexes. Just then, one of the Wendigos began to fight the rest. He looked at Ashley and saw that she turned her head so she wouldn't see the violence that was happening in front of her. They made eye contact and Chris mouthed _"Don't look Ash"_ and she nodded, seeking safety in Chris' eyes. He knew he had to be strong for Ashley, and he stared at her with hope in his eyes to keep her distracted while the violent scene played out in front of them.

Once the room had gotten quiet once more, Chris broke his gaze with Ashley and instead turned his head. He glanced over at Mike and Sam, who gave each other a nod, but as to what, Chris didn't know. Then he saw the exposed gas pipe on the other side of the room.

He put the the pieces together from what he learned from the Stranger about the Wendigo's weakness to fire, and realized they were going to blow up the lodge. Just as he thought that, Mike began to move over to a light bulb on the other side of the room, and with the Wendigo focused on Sam, Chris took that as his cue to leave. He began to quietly, but briskly run to the door of the lodge. He turned the doorknob and swung the door open when a thought suddenly came to him. He had to get out of there, but he wasn't going to leave without Ashley. He waited by the door for a few moments, but the shrieking of the Wendigo upstairs told him that his window for leaving was almost up. He bolted through the door and the cold air around him began to whip at his face. Once he was a safe distance from the lodge, he sat down and faced the lodge, giving the door a hopeful stare that Ashley was close behind him. He lowered his head in dismay as he saw that no one was behind him, but still held hope that Ashley would come out soon.

After what felt like an eternity, Chris heard footsteps approaching the door, and immediately sprung his head back up. He crossed his fingers that it was Ashley, but it was Emily instead, stumbling through the door, constantly looking behind her. Chris' anxiety only heightened, as while it was good that one of his friends made it out, Ashley still hadn't come out that door yet. Emily settled down and leaned against a tree to Chris' right, examining the wound on her right leg, as well as the bite on her shoulder.

"Did you see Ash behind you?" Chris called out to Emily, but she only ignored him. Either that or she was too preoccupied about her own well being to care about the others, Chris thought to himself.

A couple minutes later, Chris heard another set of footsteps running towards the door, and this time when he looked up with hopeful eyes, Ashley's beautiful green eyes stared right back at him.

"Ashley!" Chris exclaimed as he got to his feet and ran over to her. As the snow crunched around him, Ashley ran towards him as well, and the two met in the middle in a tight embrace. They were both desperate to hold on to each other and be as close as they possibly could. It was only less than a couple hours ago that they confessed their love for each other, and nothing was going to separate them. For a few moments, neither of them said anything, enjoying the warmth and comfort of being in each other's arms. Chris loosened his grasp on Ashley as their foreheads touched, and they both smiled at each other. Their hearts glowed as they looked at each other with love in their eyes, until their thoughts were broken by Mike's abrupt bursting out of the lodge.

"Run from the lodge!" Mike shouted as he ran a safe distance from the Wendigo infested building.

Chris took Ashley's hand and led her away from the lodge, aware of Sam and Mike's plan to blow up the lodge. With only Sam left in the building, the four friends waited outside with baited breath for Sam's eventual footsteps, however they never came. Rather, Sam jumped, and the force of the explosion propelled her forward out of the lodge.

Once Chris heard the initial explosion and saw Sam being propelled out of the lodge, Chris immediately spun Ashley around and pulled her towards his chest, with his back facing the lodge to make sure she was protected from the blast. Chris could feel the intense, rising heat behind him from the lodge, but with Ashley nestled in his chest, she was safe. As the roaring sounds of the flames began to subside, Chris could feel Ashley's warm breath against his chest, and Ashley could hear Chris' heart beating. Sam clambered up from the shock of the explosion, and as the rest of his friends began to recover from the shock of the blast, he and Ashley just stood there together in each other's embrace. While the heat of the smoldering lodge behind him was a pleasant contrast to the cold air around him, the warmth he felt from holding Ashley in his arms was much better.

The sudden sound of a pair of helicopters above caused Chris and Ashley to loosen their embrace, and when they looked up, they could see the helicopters descending downwards to pick up himself and his friends. They looked at each other and smiled, with a look of relief on both of their faces. Chris reached in and cupped Ashley's face, giving her a short, but sweet kiss on her lips, tasting what little lip gloss Ashley still had on. Ashley smiled and returned the kiss, making sure that this kiss was much longer than the one they shared in the cabin. As the helicopters touched down to pick them up, Ashley reached for Chris' hand, intertwining her fingers with his as she led him over to the helicopters.

They both took seats aboard the helicopters, never letting go of each other's hand. When they sat down, Ashley leaned her head against Chris' shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist bringing her closer to him. As Chris looked down at Ashley he smiled and kissed her forehead, prompting her to look up at him and smile.

Once Emily, Sam and Mike were all securely on the helicopters, they began to ascend, no doubt looking for Jess and Matt next. But Chris could only focus on him and Ashley. The nightmarish experience the two of them had endured was finally over. Their night was hell, but Chris never thought it'd end with him alive and well, and Ashley safely nestled in his arms. He smiled at these thoughts and for the first time that night, he was truly calm and content.

Chris leaned his head back into his seat, as both him and Ashley began to slowly drift to sleep. As his eyelids began to feel heavy, he heard Ashley lightly snoring, a sign that she was already fast asleep. He smiled, and drifted to sleep contently with the girl of his dreams safely in his arms.

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 **Thanks for reading guys! Sorry if the writing seems a bit off, I haven't written a fanfiction in a few months, so my skills are a bit rusty. Also, sorry that this chapter doesn't have a whole lot of dialogue between the characters. I was trying to go for one of those "too tired to talk, but just wanna enjoy your company" themes between Chris and Ash. But, I promise that the next chapter will have a lot more dialogue! If you guys have any suggestions for upcoming chapters in regards to Chris and Ashley's relationship, or any ideas for future chapters in general, I'd love to hear them! I've already got some ideas for the next couple of chapters, but hearing ideas from you guys would be great! I'd really appreciate it if you left a review, but even if you don't, you're still awesome for reading my fanfiction! Have a great day!**


	2. The Ranger Station

**Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all liked the first chapter! As promised, this chapter has much more dialogue than the previous one! This one is also a bit longer than the first chapter, so sit down, relax, and enjoy!**

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Being in a helicopter can really confuse someone if they fall asleep in said helicopter. When Chris first awoke from his nap, he couldn't figure out where he was. But just looking downwards to Ashley sleeping on his shoulder made him remember everything. He smiled as he remembered that they both got picked up by the helicopters and made it safely off the mountain together. He planted a small kiss on the top of her pink striped beanie and repositioned his arm around her waist so he held her more securely. Chris was lost in his thoughts until he saw out of the corner of his eye a figure in a red jacket to his left.

Chris turned his attention to the red jacketed figure and found out that it was Sam. Once Sam saw that Chris had finally taken notice of her being in the helicopter with him and Ashley, she smiled at him and nodded, no doubt in reference to him and Ashley finally being a couple. Chris gave a quick glance back to Ashley, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms and then turned back to Sam, giving her a shy smile and a nod in response.

So as to not wake up Ashley, Chris asked in a low tone "How did you get here Sam? Ash and I were the only ones on this heli when they picked us up".

In an equally quiet voice Sam responded "The helicopter crews spotted Jess and Matt coming out of the mines and tumbling into some forested area. They wanted to make sure that the couples stayed together, so I offered to move my seat to this helicopter so Matt or Jess wouldn't be left out".

Just then, Chris felt Ashley begin to stir in his arms, so he focused his attention only on her. She ever so slightly took her head off Chris' shoulder and called out "Chris?". She looked up at Chris to see him smiling at her, causing her to smile back as well.

"I'm here Ash" Chris said reassuringly, loosening his grip on her waist so she could stretch a little. After stretching her arms and legs out a bit, she let out a small yawn and rested her head back on Chris' shoulder, making herself comfortable in Chris' arms.

"Where are we?" Ashley asked Chris, taking his hand in hers and playing with the zipper on his jacket. Chris readjusted his glasses with his free hand and responded "No idea, but we've got to be getting close to a police station or ranger station, or something".

"The rangers said they were taking us to the nearby police station to interview us about the night and about what happened" Sam butted in. "They also said people are usually split up and not allowed to talk to each other before they finish interviewing them, but the rangers didn't want to isolate us after what we told them". Upon hearing Sam's voice, Ashley stopped playing with Chris' jacket zipper and jerked her head up in the direction of Sam's voice. She began to blush when she realized that it wasn't just her and Chris in the helicopter alone.

"Oh! Uh, hey Sam!" Ashley said shyly, her face a shade of pink. "Why, uh, why are you here?" Sam smiled at Ashley's sudden embarrassment and explained to her what she had told Chris a few moments ago.

"Oh, well that's great!" Ashley when Sam had finished explaining. Sam nodded and then the three of them sat in silence for the next few minutes. Ashley went back to playing with the jacket zipper and Chris leaned his head back, enjoying Ashley's company. As Chris continued on thinking of Ashley, the rotors of the helicopters began to slow down, and descend upon a clearing where a couple of building were present. As the light of the dawn began to flood through the helicopter, Chris looked outside to see a brick building and a couple of police cars, which Chris assumed was the ranger station Sam had told them about earlier. The helicopter was hovering about a foot above the ground when the pilot gave them the all clear to hop out and meet up with the rangers at the station.

Sam was the first to get out of her seat and jump out of the helicopter, almost eager to leave the helicopter as soon as possible. Ashley lifted her head off Chris' shoulder and the two of them got out of their seats, walking over to get out of the helicopter. They approached the side of the helicopter, and Chris let go of Ashley's hand so he could climb out of the helicopter, but immediately offered it again to help her get down.

She took his hand with a smile and climbed out of the helicopter with his help."Why thank you good sir", Ashley teasingly said, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

Chris cheesily responded "Anything for you, my lady", causing Ashley to playfully hit him on the shoulder and slip her hand back into his. The two of them laughed together as they walked towards the ranger station and meet up with their friends. As they were walking, Chris gave Ash the same look of love he did when she first came out of the lodge, and Ashley looked back at him with the same love in her own eyes. The both of them had large, goofy smiles on their faces as they walked up to their friends gathered at the front of the ranger station. For people who had cuts, bruises and blood on their clothes, it looked weird for them to be laughing and smiling after such a traumatic night. But to them, laughing and smiling when they were with each other just seemed natural.

When Chris and Ashley regrouped with their friends, an officer was there taking headcount of the survivors. While the officer was discussing something to another pair of officers, Chris and Ashley looked around at their friends to see how they were. Matt's letterman jacket looked a lot more worn than it had when the night began, but Jessica looked like she had it the worst when it came to physical injuries. Her head had a ton of small scratches and bruises, with the upper corner of her forehead covered in what looked like dried blood. She was also wearing a ragged, dark olive jacket, no doubt hiding a number of other injuries she endured in the night. Chris looked at Ashley to see that she, too, was looking at Jessica, and when the two made eye contact, Ashley squeezed Chris' hand, the both of them aware of how lucky they are that they weren't too badly injured, or worse.

The two of them were so lost in thought that they almost didn't see the officer beckon for the group to come inside. Chris and Ashley followed their friends inside the red bricked building, where the police would interview them about the events of the night. Upon first coming in, the station seemed dismal at best. The chairs in the waiting area had torn up cushions, and the lights on the ceiling glowed a dull white-bluish color. The ferns in the corner were the only objects that had any sort of vibrant color to it. Not to mention that the temperature inside the station was barely any better than outside.

Once the group had all entered into the police station, the officer began to speak to them. "Listen, I understand that you've all been through one hell of a night, and you'd all like to just go home. But we need to figure out what happened up on that mountain last night. We'll be interviewing each of you separately, and when we're done, you'll be given a police escort to the town nearby, and free to go back home".

The officer motioned for them to sit down in the old, ragged chairs and the group moved over to sit down in them as a group of officers walked down the hallway and to a room on the right. Chris led Ashley over to a pair of chairs that were right next to each other, so they could sit together. When they looked at the chairs, however, they were no different than the rest. The cushions had moth holes in them, and the paint was scraped off in a number of places, with some of the wood showing.

Ashley wasn't looking at the chairs too kindly at all, so when Chris saw this, he unzipped and took off his jacket, placing it on the more decent looking seat. He then sat down in the adjacent seat, which was slightly uncomfortable, but still manageable. A smile spread across Ashley's face as Chris patted the seat with his jacket on it, motioning for her to sit down on it.

"Chris, you didn't have to do that" Ashley softly said to him, seating herself down on the cushion with his jacket. Chris smiled and took hold of her hand, resting it on the armrest between them and giving it a light squeeze. Ashley smiled back and the two of them leaned their head backs against the wall and surveyed the rest of the room. Matt and Emily were off to Chris' right, in the corner by one of the fern plants. They were speaking in a hushed tone, so no one could hear their conversation, which was most likely about the incident in the basement. Mike and Jessica were across the room on a ragged, maroon couch, with Mike looking over and checking Jess' wounds. Even though Mike seemed like one of the more immature people in their group, he really did care about them all at the end of the day. Finally, Sam was far off from the group, opting to sit next to the window and gaze outside of it. Much like the helicopter ride, she seemed to be deep in thought. Both Ashley and Chris figured that Sam chose to sit alone for a reason, so the both of them decided to not bother Sam, at least not yet.

Ashley let out a sigh and then turned her head to face Chris again. Chris turned his head to face her as well and asked "What's wrong Ash?"

She shifted in her seat and a look of worry spread across her face."I don't know Chris. I'm just worried about the interview, I mean what if they blame me for stabbing Josh with scissors! I didn't really know it was Josh, but when you got knocked out, I got scared and was trying to protect us!". Chris blushed slightly upon hearing that Ashley tried to protect him, and when he saw tears begin to form in her eyes, he let go of her hand so he could pull her into a hug. Chris cradled her head in his left hand, and held her in his right hand, moving his thumb in a circular motion on her back. As Chris began to calm her down, Ashley's crying grew quieter until it had subsided.

"No one's going to blame you for anything" Chris started. Chris loosened his grip on Ashley and took both of her hands in his, looking directly into her eyes. "You were so brave last night Ash. I love you".

The both of them blushed deeply when he had said that. "I love you too" Ashley admitted, smiling at him and holding his hands a bit tighter. It felt so good to finally say those words, and hearing them back was even better. Chris smiled back at her, and in that moment, smiling and looking into each eyes, everything was perfect, and nothing else mattered but their love for each other.

Their thoughts were interrupted when the officer who welcomed them into the station came out into the lobby. "Alright, we're ready to start the interviews" He pointed to Ashley and said "We'll start with you ma'am. Come right this way".

Ashley gave Chris a look of worry, but when he looked into her eyes and smiled at her, she felt like she could take on anything. "If you ever get nervous Ash, remember that I'm always right outside" Chris whispered to her. She nodded and squeezed Chris' hands lightly before letting go of them, and then stood up from her jacket-covered seat, walked across the lobby and followed the officer down the hallway.

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 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! You wouldn't believe how many different versions of this chapter there are from all the edits I made :P. I'm having a ton of fun writing these chapters up, and I hope you're having fun reading them! I'm still trying to get back into the style of writing fanfictions, so sorry if the writing still seems a bit off. But I definitely feel that I'm starting to improve! Anyway, thanks a bunch for reading this chapter, and I hope you all have a great day! See you all on Thursday!**


	3. The Ranger Station Part 2

**Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you're all having a good week so far, and if you're not, I hope this can brighten your day! Enjoy!**

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For the first time in what seemed like forever, Chris was completely bored. Usually when he was bored, he would just start talking to Ashley, or do something on his phone. But then he realized why he was bored. Ashley wasn't there. The person he always talks to, and spends the most time with, wasn't there. They hung out all the time together, especially in the study hall at school. Even when they weren't together in person, he would just send her a quick text, which would eventually lead to them texting each other for hours on end. She was just called in to be interviewed by an officer a few minutes ago, and her phone was dead, so there was no hope of talking to her at all until after the police had finished questioning her. Chris slumped in his chair, turning his head left to view his jacket on the adjacent seat, where Ashley was sitting just moments before. He sighed at his predicament, and opted instead to see what his friends were doing to try to distract himself.

Sam was still off by herself, watching the snow slowly fall past the window. Chris figured that this was the best time, if there ever was one, to talk to Sam. He stood up from the rickety chair, and moved across the room to the empty seat near Sam, his boots making a thudding sound against the wooden floor. He sat down in the seat next to her, the chair making a creaking sound upon entering it, but Sam hadn't noticed him. She was so focused on the window that Chris had to tap her shoulder to get her attention.

"Hm? Oh hey Chris" she said, spinning her torso left so she could face him.

"So, uh, you seemed pretty lost in thought back there on the helicopter, and especially now. You wanna talk, or something?". Sam hesitated, and then said "Just kinda thinking about last night, you know? It's kinda hard to forget something like that".

"Yeah, it's been a real rollercoaster these past few hours" Chris admitted. Sam smiled. "I'm really happy for you and Ashley by the way. You two are really cute together". Chris blushed when she said that, never thinking that him and Ash would be together. "Also it was about time you two admitted to having a crush on each other" Sam teasingly added, prompting Chris to say "Hey!" and the both of them shared a smile.

"Thanks for this Chris, it felt good to talk to someone" "No problem Sam, Ash and I are always here if you wanna talk" Chris suggested, taking that as his cue that their conversation had finished. He couldn't help but think that Sam wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't want to pressure her into talking about anything. Chris got up from the chair and decided to go talk to Mike and Jess next, so he turned left and made his way over to the old, ragged couch they were sitting on. When he approached them, he saw Mike's bandaged hand resting on the couch, with his other hand in Jess' , the both of them talking about something in a low tone. Much like Sam, when Chris approached them, they didn't notice him at first. Chris cleared his throat and both Mike and Jess ended their conversation to look up at Chris.

"Hey Mike, hey Jess" he said, giving them a small wave. "Hey, what's up man" Mike replied, with Jess only able to muster up "Hey Chris" in a weak voice. Once he looked at Jess a bit more, Chris saw that she really had been through hell last night. "Nothing much" Chris replied. "Just waiting for Ashley's police interview to be done". "Well, I'm sure it'll be done soon, they probably don't want to keep us here that long" Mike reassured.

That was when a small smile formed on Jess' face and she spoke in the same weak, hushed tone as before. "Congrats on you and Ashley. She's lucky to have a guy like you taking care of her". Chris smiled at the compliment and replied "You're pretty lucky to have Mike yourself". Mike and Jess both turned to face each other when she said "Yeah, he really is a great guy".

After smiling at Jess for a few moments, Mike then patted Chris on the shoulder. "Take it easy man, Ashley will be out in no time". "Yeah, let's hope so" Chris replied in an unsure voice. His sprained ankle began to flare up in pain, so he decided it was best for him to go sit down again. He crossed the room and sat in his original seat, the one adjacent to where his jacket was sprawled out on. Chris would have gone over and talked to Matt and Emily, but Matt was fast asleep, his head propped up against the wall, and he didn't really want to talk to Emily. He didn't hate her, but after she slapped Ashley, their friendship definitely soured. Besides, she was too busy doing something on her phone to probably care about having a conversation with anyone.

On that note, Chris decided to go charge his own phone while he had the chance. He reached over to his jacket in Ashley's chair and began rummaging through the pockets for his charger. Eventually, he found it buried deep within one of the inner pockets of the jacket. He took his phone out from his right pants' pocket and plugged the charger into his phone. Now to only find an outlet. Chris played a game of I-Spy with himself in an effort to find an outlet in the lobby, but Emily seemed to be taking up the only one. That is, until he decided to look right next to him.

Luckily enough, there was a charger outlet placed right in between his and Ashley's chair, so he slightly separated the chairs and reached down below to plug in his charger. His phone buzzed to life, and turned on as soon as the charger was plugged into the outlet. Chris placed his phone on the armrest of his chair and looked around the room while his phone turned on. He looked to the clock on the wall opposite him to see that it read 7:09. It definitely showed, as sunlight was beginning to creep its way through the station's windows. Under his hand, the phone changed from the black screen to his phone wallpaper, a navy blue night sky with stars speckled across the screen.

Chris didn't just turn on his phone to relieve him from boredom however. He turned it on because he needed to change something. He went into his contacts list and tapped his thumb on Ashley's name. He pressed the edit button in the corner and then proceeded to tap on her name. Chris smiled to himself as he added a red heart emoji onto the end of her name. Nothing in the world could express the amount of love he had for Ashley, but he had to try to express it in any way he possibly could.

He had just exited out of his contacts app when he heard shuffling come from down the hallway. The opening of a door could be heard, followed by multiple pairs of boots walking across the wooden hallway. Chris looked up from his phone to see Ashley and the two of them walked towards each other and met in a hug in the middle of the lobby.

They could feel Mike and Jess smiling at them, and while they were blushing, Chris and Ashley didn't care who saw them.

"How'd it go?" Chris asked, but Ashley only managed to say "You're up next" before the officer approached Chris and mirrored Ashley's words. "Come on, you're next to be interviewed" the officer said in his gruff voice, motioning for Chris to follow him.

"My phone's plugged in next to our seats, you can use my charger if you want" Chris said with a sigh, before he reluctantly let go of Ashley and followed the officer down the frigid hallway to the room where his interview would be held.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! Sorry that it's a bit shorter than the previous two, but I'll be posting an extra chapter on Saturday, so you guys can have that to look forward to! Have a great day!**


	4. Chris' Interview

**Happy Saturday everyone! As promised, here's a bonus chapter! Not much more to say here, so enjoy!**

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The interview was just horrible. It was held in a small, cramped room that was just as cold, if not more, than the lobby. The walls were made of what looked to be limestone, and painted a whiteish-beige color. There was a single table in the center of the room, with metal folding chairs on either side. The only bit of warmth Chris had in the room was the chair he was sitting it, since Ashley was sitting there a few minutes before. Even without knowing it, she was helping Chris. There was a single window on the wall to his right, revealing that the snow outside was beginning to taper off. An officer sat across from him in another metal chair, and began to rattle questions off to him.

The officer touched a lot of topics that Chris didn't want to talk about. The old man, Josh and his pranks, the Wendigos. He just wanted to forget all of those things and remember one of the only good things that came out of the night: Ashley. But there was one topic that really ticked Chris off.

The officer had decided to finish talking about the old man they had met and moved onto another topic."Now let's talk about the wound your friend Josh received as a result of last night" the officer stated.

At first, Chris was confused. "What? What wound are you talking about?" Chris asked. The officer began "Well, your friend Ashley told us-". "Girlfriend" Chris corrected. "She's my girlfriend".

The officer paused, mostly likely making a mental note to himself. "Alrighty then, your girlfriend Ashley told us that she stabbed the Psycho, who she didn't know was Josh at the time, under the pretense that she was protecting the both of you. Was she actually protecting you two, or did she have some other motive for injuring Josh?".

At hearing this, Chris could feel himself getting mad at the officer for believing for even a second that Ashley would intentionally hurt someone. "No!" Chris shouted. "She's the sweetest, kindest, most innocent person I know! She would never hurt anyone on purpose, and I'm proud to call her my girlfriend!". Chris meant every word he said. He wasn't going to let anyone accuse her of doing something she would never do. The officer wrote some notes down, and continued on with the rest of his questions.

For the rest of the interview, Chris drowned out the officer's voice and he could only think of Ashley, and nothing else. He didn't want to let any of the officer's questions remind him of the horrible things that happened last night. After a few more minutes of asking questions, and a couple more of writing down notes, the officer finally said "Alright, we're done with the interview". The both of them got up from the squeaky metal chairs and the officer held the door open for Chris. The pair of them proceeded to walk down the hallway in the direction of the lobby, the door to the interviewing room open for the next person. When Chris had made it back into the lobby, he saw Ashley sitting in the chair she was before, playing with the emerald ring on finger. She looked away from her ring and in the direction of the hallway when she saw Chris. Her face brightened when she saw that Chris was done, and while the officer beckoned for Sam to follow him, Chris walked over to Ashley and gave her a small hug before sitting down next to her.

"So, how was your interview?" they said in unison. They smiled at each other and Chris said "You go first".

"Well they asked a whole bunch of questions about the, you know" Ashley began. Much like Chris, she didn't want to remember any of the bad things, only the good. "They asked all about the whole thing with Josh, and the saws, and the, the gun". Ashley sniffled and Chris saw tears begin to form when she mentioned the gun. "They asked a lot about the gun. I told them about how you, about how you were going to shoot yourself for me" she finished as she began to quietly cry. Chris pulled Ashley into a hug and began to soothingly rub her back. He couldn't imagine what Ashley must have felt when she thought Chris had died. But he didn't want to remember the cold feel of the gun on his chin. He wanted to remember the warm touch of holding Ashley.

"It's ok Ash, we're both safe. We got off the mountain together, and we have each other now". Ashley nodded as she buried her head in his chest, wanting to feel safe with Chris and forget about most of the stuff that happened last night. The two of them continued hugging until Ashley had stopped crying and lifted her head up off Chris shoulder. Chris' left shoulder was damp from Ashley's tears, but he didn't mind at all.

"When we get out of here, we can find you a fire to curl up next to" Chris said with a smile, trying to brighten the mood. Ashley gave him a weak smile back and responded "You gave me all the warmth I needed". They both blushed and turned their chairs 90 degrees so they could face each other without craning their necks. Chris wiped away some stray tears that remained on Ashley's face, and even though she had a couple bruises and the black eye she had gotten from where Josh, she was the most beautiful girl Chris had ever seen.

Chris reached on Ashley's armrest to unplug his phone from the charger and said "You didn't charge your phone?". "I wanted to make sure your phone was fully charged. You use it so much anyway" Ashley responded teasingly. She reached into her shorts' pocket and took out her own phone, handing it over to Chris. He felt a line on the back of her case and turned it over to see that there was a large crack spanning left to right on her phone case. Ashley knew what Chris was going to say so she answered his question before he asked. "When you left the lodge to look for Josh in the shed, I went on my phone to waste some time until you got back. When I heard the, _thing_ screaming, I dropped my phone and ran to the door. Looks like I dropped my phone a bit too hard" She added with a small laugh

"Since I kinda did this, I'll buy you a new case when we get back home" Chris said as he plugged her phone into the charger. Chris turned his head right to see the clock on the wall read 7:48. Hopefully the police will let them out soon. Chris felt Ashley reach for his hand and intertwine her fingers into his. He turned his head back to Ashley and gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Your English essay is due tomorrow right? I can help you with it later on" Ashley began, striking up conversation. And just like that, the two of them started talking about a range of topics, from his essay due tomorrow, Chris' horrible jokes which Ashley would always sigh at and give him a small smile, to the new books and video games they were both excited about. As their friends left and returned to the lobby one by one, and the time steadily progressed forward, Chris and Ashley didn't give a care in the world about what was going on around them. In fact, they were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't see the officer come out from the lobby.

The officer loudly cleared his voice, gaining the attention of everyone in the lobby. "Alright, we've interviewed you all, and all your stories check out. We won't be holding any of you here, and we'll be sending a team to search for your friend Josh. If any of you want a police escort back home, you're welcome to. Otherwise, you're free to go home".

Everyone in the room either applauded or cheered, all of them eager to finally go home. Everyone rose out of their chairs, bringing on a large chorus of squeaking chairs, and collected their belongings before leaving. Both Chris and Ashley smiled and hugged each other when they got up, as eager to go home as everyone else was. Ashley handed Chris his jacket that she had been sitting on, but instead of putting it on himself, he wrapped the jacket around Ashley, gingerly putting her arms through the sleeves. She smiled gratefully at him and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. They walked towards the door together, and Chris held the door open for her with a smile. "After you, my lady" he cheesily said, nodding his head in her direction. Ashley smiled at him and rolled her eyes, jokingly saying "Gosh you're so cheesy". She walked outside, with Chris following right behind her. He was greeted by Ashley waiting for him with her hand outstretched for him. He gladly took her hand and together they walked in the cool winter air to the nearby town.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I've been writing up chapters for this story daily ever since Monday, so I'm having a ton of fun with this. I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and I'll see you all on Tuesday with the next chapter!**


	5. The Cafe

**Happy Tuesday everyone! Once again, I've not a whole to say here, so enjoy!**

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"You know we're going to have to tell our parents about last night, right?" Ashley said to Chris, her breath showing as they walked down the mostly vacant sidewalk.

"Yeah I know" he responded. "But you're going to have a lot worse of a time explaining it to your parents, with your eye all swollen". Luckily enough, Josh didn't seemed to have hit her too hard. Her eye was more red and swollen than it was a full on black eye. Ashley nodded. "I know. My mom was already hesitant about letting me go on this trip after what happened last year. Once she sees my eye swollen and dried blood on my clothes, I'll probably be grounded".

"Well, I'll make sure to visit you everyday" Chris teasingly responded with a smile. Ashley smiled back and they continued on to a small coffee shop on a corner they spotted when they first arrived in the town. They approached the shop to see a Valentine's Day ad for the shop placed in the window, with various heart decorations surrounding it. Seeing those decorations started to get Chris thinking of what to do for Ashley on Valentine's Day. He had no problem getting her a gift, if anything he was ecstatic about celebrating the day with her. But he had no idea what to give her in the first place. He brushed these thoughts aside, confident that he would come up with something later on.

They approached the door of the shop and Chris held it open for Ashley, who responded with a smile and the two of them walked into the coffee shop. The ringing of a bell could be heard behind them as the door closed, but the smells of the shop caught Chris and Ashley's attention more. The smell of freshly roasting coffee and sweet pastries filled the air around them, and the temperature inside was much warmer than that of the station. There was a fairly long line at the register, most likely people who were going to work and were looking to pick up a quick bite to eat on the way there. Luckily enough, there wasn't a whole lot of people staying at the shop, so the majority of the booths were empty. Ashley spotted a vacant booth in the corner of the shop and led Chris over to it.

The two of them sat down across from each other in the booth, the soft upholstery being a pleasant contrast to the seats in the police station. Chris took out his phone and Googled the bus schedule, trying to find them the quickest way back home. After a few minutes of tapping and swiping, Chris found what he was looking for.

"Looks like there's a bus stop 2 blocks from here" he began. "The bus comes in 20 minutes and it'll take us about an hour to get home". "That's good" Ashley responded, absentmindedly staring out the window. "At least we can stay here until the bus arrives" Chris added, setting his phone down on the table and tapping his fingers on the table. "Mh hmm" Ashley hummed, propping her arm up on the table and leaning her head against it.

"Hey, I'm still a bit cold so I'm gonna get some hot chocolate. You want anything?" Chris asked. "A hot chocolate sounds great, thanks" Ashley responded with a smile. She reached into her pocket, but Chris stopped her short. "It's fine, I'll pay for us". She gave him a small smile, but kept rummaging through her pocket, the smile on her face quickly vanishing.

"Chris" Ashley said worriedly. "My purse isn't in my pocket". Chris began to mirror her look of worry until he remembered something. He reached into his left pants pocket and produced a small, woven pouch with the word _Ash_ sewn into it. He outstretched his hand and gave Ashley her purse. A look of relief spread over her face as she happily took her purse from Chris' hand and put it in her pocket. "Oh my gosh, thanks Chris. My parents would've gone crazy if I told them I lost my purse". Chris smiled. "How'd you have my purse anyway?" she asked. "When Josh knocked us out the first time, to bring you, to the, you know, I found your purse on the floor when I woke up" Chris said. He didn't want to upset Ashley about last night so Chris quickly said "Let me go get us those hot chocolates now".

As Chris got up and walked over to wait on the long line for the register, Ashley turned back to the window. She watched the cars zip by, every person off doing their own regular routine. It was hard to believe that at this time yesterday, she was all excited and jittery about seeing Chris for a whole weekend at the lodge, and here they were now officially together. She was so lucky to have Chris. He was the one who was there to comfort her the entire night. Hell, she might not even be here if it wasn't for Chris. He made sure that he protected her as much as he could all night, to the point of being willing to shoot himself if it meant she wouldn't be harmed. She was the luckiest girl in the world.

Ashley shifted about in the booth and kneeled in her seat, sticking her head over the top of it to see the line. It was backed all the way to the middle of the shop, with more people coming in every so often. Chris saw Ashley kneeling in the booth, prompting him to smile and wave at her. Ashley returned the gesture and slid back down into the booth. She sighed. Chris still had a while until he made it to the register. She leaned back into her seat and took her phone out of her pocket, her pink background with flowers glowing when she pressed the home button. Ashley unlocked her phone and began absentmindedly reading a story she was working on in an effort to waste some time until Chris had returned with their drinks.

Ashley had already read her story twice, making a few edits along the way, by the time Chris had finally purchased their hot chocolates. Ashley could faintly hear Chris say "Have a great day!" over the noise of the shop, so she leaned forward in the booth and saw Chris coming over to her, 2 cups of hot chocolate in his hands. He scooted himself into the booth and placed the cups on the table, sliding a cup to Ashley which she graciously accepted with a smile.

Chris took a sip of his hot chocolate and pulled out his phone to look at the bus schedule one more time, making sure he got the details right. "So we've got about 10 minutes until the bus arrives" he said, in between sips of hot chocolate. Ashley quickly swallowed the hot chocolate she was drinking and responded "We should probably go head down to the bus stop now!". Chris nodded in agreement and the two of them grabbed their hot chocolates and made their way to the door. The tinkling of the bell sounded behind them just as before when they first entered the shop, and again when the door closed behind them. Ashley swapped her cup from her right hand to her left, and slipped her now vacant right hand into Chris' left and the two of them walked in the direction of the bus stop.

Being in the warm coffee shop with Ashley made Chris completely forget that it was 20 degrees outside. The cold winter air quickly made him remember that, and he shivered while they were on their way to the bus stop. Ashley felt him shiver against her, turning her head towards him with a look of concern on her face. "Are you cold Chris? You can have your jacket back" she said as she reached for the zipper of Chris' jacket, the oversized sleeves of the jacket covering her hands as she did so.

Ashley had just begun to unzip the jacket when Chris gently took both her hands in his and re-zipped his jacket on her. "I'll be fine, trust me" he reassured her. "You're all the warmth I need" he added with a smile. Ashley mirrored the smile on his face and nodded her head. "Alright, if you say so" she conceded and the two of them continued on their walk to the bus stop. Chris spotted a bench and a metal pole with the bus stop sign on it. Ashley saw it too, and the two of them walked over to the bench and sat down on it. Surprisingly, no one else seemed to be waiting for this specific bus. Ashley leaned in closer to Chris, prompting him to wrap his arm around her, the two of them warming each other up in the cold winter air. Chris had finished drinking his hot chocolate and reached over to throw his cup out in the trash bin adjacent to the bench. Ashley picked up her own hot chocolate and drank what was left, the warmth of the liquid adding to what Chris was already giving her. She reached her arm over Chris, struggling to reach the garbage bin. Chris gently took the cup out of her hand with a smile and threw it out for her. Ashley smiled back and rested her head against his shoulder, snuggling up closer to him.

A couple of minutes had passed when Ashley pointed her finger down the street and said "There's the bus!". Chris looked in the direction of Ashley's finger and sure enough, he could see the bus. The two of them rose from the bench and Chris reached into his wallet, grabbed some cash and handed to Ashley for the bus fare. The bus rolled up at the bench and the doors opened with a screech. Chris stepped to the side to let Ashley go on the bus first, with her giving him a kiss on his cheek before she climbed up the stairs. She deposited her money into the box, Chris following suit and the two of them searched for a seat on the bus.

For the most part, the bus was decent. Most of the seats were in good condition, there wasn't a whole lot of passengers, and there was no distinct smell. Also, the temperature was slightly warmer inside the bus than outside, so that served a plus. Chris found them a seat that was in pretty good condition, motioning for Ashley to come over. He knew that she loves to sit next to the window and watch the cars and people go by, so he extended his arm out and tipped his invisible hat at Ashley for her to sit next to the window. The two of them smiled at each other and once Ashley had sat herself next to the window, Chris followed suit, seating himself next to her, and taking her hand in his.

The bus' engine began to start up again, and it was off to the next stop. Ashley moved closer to Chris, wanting to lean against him. He lifted his left arm up in response, and wrapped it around Ashley's waist once she was comfortably nestled in his chest. After moving her head around a bit, she finally settled it down on his chest, smiling into his jacket. The warmth of both Chris and the hot chocolate began to make her sleepy, and she wasn't aware of how tired she was until her eyelids began to feel heavy. "I love you" she sleepily mumbled into his chest, making Chris blush. "I love you too" he whispered, gently moving her pink beanie aside to kiss the top of her head. He readjusted her beanie, and upon hearing her soft breathing, he leaned his head back and smiled.

A few hours ago, Chris was pointing a gun to his chin, ready to sacrifice himself for Ashley. And now, here he was with her sleeping contently in his arms. He reached into his pocket and checked the time on his phone. 10:34. It would be an hour until they finally made it home. Chris usually hated long bus rides, but with Ashley in his arms, he knew that this would one bus ride he actually enjoyed.

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 **Not gonna lie, I finished writing this chapter at 11 at night, and writing the ending actually made me yawn and feel sleepy :P. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all on Thursday! As always, any critiques you may have are greatly appreciated!**


	6. We're finally home

**Happy Thursday! I hope you enjoy this and that it brightens up your day!**

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Chris still hated long bus rides, but this one was definitely manageable. He spent the majority of the ride on his phone, busying himself with whatever he could. He browsed through the apps on his phone, playing a couple of games, checking the weather, and looking at his Twitter feed among things. Ashley occasionally stirred in his arms, during the ride, followed by Chris checking up on her. She readjusted her head a few times, nestling back into his chest and then going back to sleep.

Chris could really go for some sleep right about now. He hadn't gotten any sleep at all last night, and the only bit of sleep he had gotten was on the helicopter with Ashley earlier this morning, but even that was only around 20 minutes. Other than that, Chris hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since the night before he left for the lodge. But he could sleep once he got home. Right now, he wanted to make sure that Ashley got home safe and sound. Chris briefly turned his head and checked up on Ashley, and upon seeing that she was still sleeping, he took out his phone again and decided to try to work on that English essay.

Chris had only just begun doing research for his essay when he looked up from his phone to see buildings that looked familiar to him. Looks like they were finally home. Chris put his phone back into his pocket and gently shook Ashley's shoulder. She stirred in his arms a bit, and lifted her head from his chest, blinking a few times.

"Hey" Chris said with a smile. "We're almost home". Ashley rubbed her eyes and turned left, looking out the window to see the same familiar buildings Chris saw. She smiled at seeing that they had finally made it home, and leaned back in her seat.

"Was I asleep the whole time?" Ashley asked, turning around in her seat to meet Chris.

He smiled and responded "Yeah", followed by him stretching.

"Sorry" she said with a small smile. "It must have been pretty boring just listening to me snore for an hour". Chris smiled back at her and took her hand in his. "Every minute I get to spend with you is time well spent" he said, blushing slightly. Ashley blushed herself when he said, and squeezed his hand in response. Suddenly, the bus screeched to a halt, and the doors opened. Chris and Ashley both looked up and saw that this was their stop. They got up and walked out of the bus doors to be greeted by a brisk breeze. As the bus closed its doors and pulled away, Ashley began to smoothe out Chris' jacket as he checked the time on his phone. It was already 11:48.

"Well, we're finally home!" Ashley said with a sigh of relief, rubbing her hands together. Chris smiled and nodded in agreement, putting his phone back in his pocket. He walked over to Ashley and held her hand and the two of them began walking in the direction of Ashley's house. It felt good to see houses and trees instead of the dilapidated lodge they spent the evening in. Chris and Ashley's neighborhood was really nice. There were nice houses, not grand, luxurious houses, but still fairly nice sized. There was a well kept park a few blocks away from Chris' house where the gang would occasionally meet up and play a friendly game of baseball or soccer if they were in the mood. Although since it was the beginning of February, there wouldn't be any games played in the park until at least the spring.

There was also a large lake a few blocks behind Ashley's house, where the two of them would go a few times each winter. Whenever the lake would freeze over in the night, Ashley would always text Chris early in the morning to meet her by the lake, and he always knew that meant they were going to spend the entire day at it. She loved to skate on it, and she was great at it too. Chris, on the other hand, never skated once on the lake. He always wanted to, but he was nervous that he'd slip up and hurt himself, or even worse, hurt Ashley on accident. Because of this, he usually brushed away the snow and sat down next to the lake, cheering Ashley on. Maybe this year he would actually try to skate with her.

The two of them continued to walk, lost in their own thoughts and admiring the beauty that came with winter. Each house had a few icicles hanging off the awnings of the houses, with snow dusting on the top of the roof on every house. The occasional tree or two could be spotted in the front yards of some houses, with snow in the place of its leaves.

They had just passed by the small, cozy bookstore that Ashley spent so much of her time with Chris after school. He fondly remembered the two of them sometimes spending the entire day in the shop doing homework, trying to find the silliest book titles they could possibly find, and just having an overall good time. Chris always had fun whenever he was with Ashley.

Chris turned his attention away from the scenery around him and instead looked at the houses in front of him. He spotted Ashley's house, an average sized white house, which was three away from the one they were at right now. They finally came up on her house, which Chris loved looking at it every time. There was a branch off from the main sidewalk that led to up to front stairway, a white railing on either end. There was a brown welcome mat placed before the front door, with depictions of all sorts of colorful flowers on it. On the door itself was a Valentine's Day wreath, but it would always change depending on the season. On the side next to the door was their mailbox, empty today since it was Sunday. Off to the left of the front yard was the tree that him and Ashley would always sit under during the summer, now devoid of its leaves due to the cold weather. Ashley's mom kept flowers in pots on the front lawn, but she would always bring them inside during winter so they wouldn't get crushed from the snow. Their garage and driveway was off to the right, where Ashley's dad always kept his car, and where Ashley would eventually keep her's when she got one. Ashley's house looked like one of those houses where love existed, and it definitely did.

The two of them walked past the driveway and up to the path, where Chris escorted her to the front door. They proceeded up to the pair of steps that led to her front door, making sure to be careful of the ice on the bottom step. The awning above them gave just the perfect amount of shade to protect them from the sun. They both turned to face each other and awkwardly smiled, neither of them wanting to say goodbye. Ashley made the first move, letting go of Chris' hand and wrapping her arms around his neck, looking up at him. Chris, slightly flustered, wrapped both his arms around her waist, bringing her in closer to him. The neighborhood was blissfully quiet apart from the occasional breeze that came in.

"Thanks for everything last night" Ashley said, breaking the silence between them. "I couldn't let anything happen to you" Chris genuinely responded, feeling his face get hot. The smiles on both of their faces grew bigger, and Chris took the initiative. He leaned in and tilted his head, Ashley meeting him halfway and they met in a kiss. But this one was unlike the one they shared in the lodge. There was true passion in this kiss, a feeling of safety and assurance and love in it. Chris could feel the heat rising to his face, but he didn't care. He kissed Ashley with passion, wanting her to know how much he loved her, and Ashley kissed him back with the same amount of passion. He wished this kiss would never end. In that instance, the only feeling between the two of them was love.

Ashley was the one who broke the kiss, leaving the both of them with goofy smiles on their faces. She leaned her forehead against Chris' and the two of them looked into each other's eyes, their faces red.

"I should go now, my parents are probably worried sick about me" Ashley said, gently removing her arms from Chris' neck. Chris sighed and reluctantly removed his arms from Ashley's waist, not wanting their embrace to end. "I'll text you later today" she said, reaching for the knob of the screen door. "Sure thing" he said, quickly reaching over to kiss her on the cheek. He reached for the railing to his right and walked down the front stairs as he heard Ashley open the screen door behind him. Chris continued along the pavement and reached the sidewalk when he turned around and looked at the door, wanting to make sure Ashley was alright. She had just opened the front door and stepped inside, when as she turned around to close the door, saw Chris standing there. She smiled at him and gave him a small wave before closing the front door.

Content with the fact that Ashley had officially made it home safe and sound, Chris stuck his hands in his pockets and walked down the sidewalk in the direction of his house with a smile on his face.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! I've been writing up a ton more chapters for this fanfiction, so I'm happy to say that you'll be getting another bonus chapter this weekend! It'll most likely be up on Saturday, and trust me, it's a long chapter. I'll see ya all on Saturday!**


	7. Safe and Sound

**Happy Saturday everyone! This chapter is really long compared to the rest, almost 4 times the size of a regular chapter, so sit down, relax, and enjoy! Also, during any texting parts, "C:" means that's what Chris is texting, and "A:" means that's what Ashley's texting.**

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Chris walked down the sidewalk, his boots hitting against the pavement being the only sound in the neighborhood. It was a Sunday, so people were most likely sleeping in or staying inside. Chris had to admit though, that without Ashley next to him, he felt kind of lonely. But when his hand brushed against the phone in his pocket, he reminded himself that she was always just a text away. And he was always just a text away for Ashley. After the events of last night, they would always be there for each other. Now that he was alone, away from the Wendigos, and there were no distractions around him, Chris began to actually think about last night. Up until now, he had only cared about making sure Ashley made it off the mountain safely, and now that she was safe and sound, Chris had time to think to himself.

What Josh did last night was messed up. Chris remembered the feeling of hopelessness he felt when he saw Ashley tied up, a saw blade positioned in front of her. He would never forget his heart feeling like it was being wrenched from his chest when she cried out to him for help. He remembered wanting to cry himself. As if seeing Ashley emotionally distressed once wasn't enough, Chris had to see it again with the gun trial. When the Psycho had given Chris his instructions and the saw blades turned on above them, he hated seeing Ashley cry. At that time, he wanted to rip the restraints off both of them and wrap Ashley up in his arms, and tell her everything would be fine. When she pleaded with Chris that he shoot her to spare his life, he couldn't. He would never hurt Ashley. He remembered holding that gun up to his chin, closing his eyes and focusing only on Ashley, expecting her to be his last thought. Chris remembered too vividly pulling the trigger, and hearing Ashley cry loudly when she heard the shot.

But at the end of the long, dark tunnel that was last night, there was light. He hadn't died. And neither did Ashley. All his friends made it out alive last night. All except one, that is. Everything Josh did last night was messed up, but he didn't deserve to be taken by the Wendigo. If what the Stranger had said was right, then Josh was dead. But Chris couldn't convince himself that Josh was dead. Josh shouldn't have hit Ashley, and Chris remembered feeling disappointed and upset with Josh. But he was his best friend since third grade, pranking all their friends and congratulating each other on every successful prank they pulled off. Josh always used to make fun of Chris about his crush on Ashley, just telling him to get it on with her already. And they finally did get together. Chris let out a small, bittersweet laugh when he thought that. Josh had to be alive, he was probably in a cave or in the mines or somewhere, waiting for someone to find him. The search crews would find him, they just had to.

The wind picked up behind Chris and the sudden rush of cold air broke his concentration. He held his arms together and rubbed them to generate some bit of warmth, not realizing how cold he really was. Luckily enough, Chris could spot his house in the distance, and he let out a sigh of relief at seeing it. He felt his nose get runny, and instinctively raised his arm up to his face. A few moments later he sneezed, dampening his sleeve, and wiped his nose against it. A cough soon followed, and Chris was pretty sure that he was coming down with a cold.

Chris began to quicken his pace a little, wanting to get out of the cold and into the warmth of his house. He minded his sprained ankle while he walked, something he was definitely going to have to get checked tomorrow. After walking for another minute, Chris finally came up to his house, a smile coming across his face. He had finally made it home.

His house was about the same size as Ashley's, except his was painted light blue. There were no trees in the front yard, but there was a large maple in his backyard, as well as his mom's garden. Ashley and him would occasionally go there, lying underneath the maple and spotting the birds that would nest there in the spring and summer. There was a light layer of snow on the front lawn, a sign that it had snowed recently. Chris saw that his dad's car wasn't in the driveway, but then he remembered his mom telling him before he left for the lodge that his dad had been called into the office on Sunday, so he wouldn't be home until later on.

Chris had decided to cut across the front yard instead of walking along the sidewalk. Based on everything he had done last night, this was the least risky thing he'd done. He climbed up the front stairs, his ankle hurting him slightly as he dragged it up the pair of steps. Chris turned the knob of the screen door and opened it up, putting his back to it so the door wouldn't close. He reached into his back pocket and took out his house key, placing it in the lock and twisting the knob, opening up the front door. He stepped through the doorway, and a feeling of comfort washed over him. Chris turned around and closed the screen door, followed by the front door. He re-locked the front door, and turned around, leaning against the door. A smile spread across Chris' face, and he could instantly feel warmer.

"Mom! I'm home!" Chris called out, guessing she was in the kitchen since he could hear the oven and could smell bacon.

"I'm in the kitchen!" his mom called out, most likely making lunch for Chris. The smell of bacon instantly drew Chris to the kitchen, so he took his boots off and placed them on the mat in the corner, followed by him taking off his green jacket and placing it on one of the hooks on the coat rack that was mounted on the wall. Chris' stomach rumbled, not realizing how hungry he was until now. He made his way to the kitchen, a bit slower because of his sprained ankle, and saw his mom placing bacon on a plate.

"Hey mom" Chris said as he entered into the kitchen, walking towards her. His mom turned around and happily exclaimed "Christopher!" as she walked over to him, embracing him in a hug. Chris smiled and hugged her back, happy to be home. His mom pulled away, and once she looked at him again, she shouted "Oh my gosh, what happened!", referencing the cuts and bruises he had on his face.

Chris rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of where to start. "It's a long story. You probably want to sit down" he said, so the two of them sat down at the kitchen table and Chris told her about everything that happened last night, all while he ate his plate of bacon. He started from when he got in the cable car with Sam, and told her about everything that happened after that. The ouija board, how Josh went insane after the death of his sisters, as well as the traps and pranks that he had set up for all of them, about the Stranger and the whole story of the Wendigos, and how they turned out to be true. Chris also told his mom about the saw and gun trial with Ashley. He could feel his mouth go dry as he talked about it, and was on the verge of crying when he told his mom about seeing Ashley tied up, crying out to him. Chris also told her, with some difficulty, about how he was willing to shoot himself to save Ashley.

His mom listened intently the entire time that he spoke, gasping and saying "Oh my gosh" at times. When Chris brought up the saw and the gun trial, a solemn expression came over her face and she put her arm around him, comforting him.

"So then we took the bus back here, I walked Ashley home, and now we're here" Chris said, concluding his retelling of last night. He took the final piece of bacon off his plate and ate it, finishing up his lunch. Chris' mom got up from her chair and walked over to him, hugging him. She broke away after a few moments and said "Well, I'm glad that both you and Ashley are alright. You were very brave last night honey, and I'm proud of you". Chris smiled at the compliment his mom gave him, not really thinking of himself as brave. His mom pointed down to his sprained ankle and said "We're going to the doctor's about that tomorrow though, so you can't go to classes".

"That's fine with me" Chris responded, nodding his head in agreement. "After last night, I could use a day off from classes". His mom reached over the table and grabbed his plate, walking over to the sink. As she turned on the water and began to wash the dish, she jerked her head in the direction of upstairs. "Go upstairs and change into some new clothes" she said, scrubbing the plate. "And make sure you rest!" she added as Chris walked out of the kitchen and to the stairs. "I will" he called out, slightly limping up the stairs. When he reached the second floor, Chris turned right and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him to drown out the sound of the faucet downstairs. He let out a sigh of relief in the calming quietness of his room, happy that he could now sit down and get some proper sleep. Chris walked over to his dresser in the corner of his room, passing by his desk. The pain in his ankle began to flare up again, prompting him to stop walking and lean against his desk chair for a few moments. Once he felt alright to move again, he stopped pressing against the chair and continued walking over to his dresser.

Chris opened up the drawers of the dresser, picking out whatever was closest and tossing it on his bed. A fresh pair of underwear, a pair of socks, an undershirt, a pair of blue sweatpants and a grey hoodie that depicted the Marvel logo on it all got tossed onto the bed, one piece at a time. He quickly changed into the new set of clothes, instantly feeling comfier and warmer. He took his phone out of his left pants pocket and placed it on his bed, not wanting it to get accidently washed. Chris sat down on the bed and played a game of basketball with himself, shooting his blood and sweat stained clothes into the hamper across the room. Every piece of clothing had made it in the hamper, and Chris smiled at himself for achieving this.

Chris picked up his phone from off the bed and placed it on his nightstand, followed by him taking his glasses off and placing those next to his phone. He yawned and swung his legs onto his bed, pulling the covers over him. He put both of his hands in the hoodie's pocket and laid his head back on the warm, soft pillow on his bed. Chris looked at the digital clock on his desk opposite the room and saw that it was already 12:49. He wondered how Ashley explained last night's events to her parents, and how well they received it.

Chris let out another yawn, a sign that he was beginning to fall asleep. He was safe, and so was Ashley. They were both alright. The warmth of his blankets around him only made it harder for Chris to keep his eyelids open. Chris let out a sigh of relief and thought of Ashley as he contently drifted off to sleep.

Chris woke up some time later to the sound of his phone buzzing next to him on the nightstand. He groggily opened his eyes and stretched before leaning over to his nightstand to see who was texting him. Without glasses on Chris couldn't fully make out the name, but he spotted a red emoji at the end of the name, and instantly knew who it was. Chris reached for his glasses and put them on, finally able to see everything around him. Taking his phone in his hand, Chris laid back down on his bed and unlocked his phone, looking at the time on top. It was already 3:29. He pressed the text messages app and saw that Ashley had sent him 3 texts.

 _"Hey"_ the first message said, which she sent at 1:20. Chris was already asleep by then, but he still mentally kicked himself for not answering her text.

Ashley's next message was sent 5 minutes later. _"Oh my gosh, you're probably sleeping! I'm sorry if I woke you up :(" ._ A small smile came across Chris' face when he read that. He could feel the genuine care Ashley had for him in that text. Chris finally looked at the third message, which just simply said " _Text me back when you can"._ Chris rolled over on his side to get more comfortable and began to text Ashley back.

C: _Hey_

Chris waited, and a few seconds later, he could see a speech bubble with three circles, indicating that she was texting him back.

A: _Hey_

C: _Sorry about not texting you back sooner, I took a nap_

A: _Don't be! I probably woke you up, so I should be the one who's sorry :(_

C: _No worries, you didn't wake me up! I'm just exhausted from last night_

A: _It's a good thing you finally woke up, I was beginning to think you were hibernating for the winter :P_

Chris smiled when he read that. He loved that even after last night, they could still joke around with each other.

C: _:P_

C: _So how'd things go with your parents?_

A: _Well, my mom was pretty upset at seeing dried pig's blood on my hoodie, and my dad was getting ready to fight the person who gave me a black eye_

C: _So a pretty average response? :P_

A: _Just about :P_

C: _How'd you explain everything?_

A: _I just told them about everything that happened last night. About the whole thing with, you know, and the things he did_

A solemn expression came over Chris' face. Neither he nor Ashley wanted to remember seeing each other in pain last night. But Chris' expression changed into a smile and his heart glowed when he read her next text.

A: _I also told them about how you protected me all last night and how you cared so much about me_

C: _Ash, I couldn't let anything happen to you_

At reading the next text, Chris blushed, and even though he couldn't see her, he knew that Ashley was blushing too.

A: _I love you_

C: _I love you too_

At this time yesterday, Chris never would have thought that he would read those two texts. But now, it felt natural to say those words to each other. A minute passed before either of them continued the conversation.

C: _I'm going to the doctors tomorrow about my ankle btw, so I can't drive you to school tomorrow. Sorry :(_

A: _It's fine, I'm not going to go to classes tomorrow either. I want to give myself a day to rest before I go back to school_

C: _Be honest, you're still going to make up the work you missed :P_

A: _Of course I am :P_

Their conversation continued on for quite some time, and it wasn't until a warning came up on Chris' phone that said he had 20% battery left that he realized what time it was. It was already 5:57. They had been texting each other for over 2 hours, albeit with some breaks in between.

A: _My mom's setting up the table for dinner, so I've gotta go._

Chris' stomach rumbled, wondering if his mom was done making dinner.

C: _I think my mom's done making dinner too, I'll text you later!_

A: _Not if I text you first! :P_

C: _:P_

Chris pressed the home button, exiting the app with a smile on his face. He was so lucky to be with Ashley. Chris opened up the drawer on his nightstand and reached for his spare charger, grabbing the white chord and plugging it into the outlet underneath the nightstand. Seeing that the sun was beginning to set, he turned on the lamp beside him and got up from his bed, walked across his room and shut the blinds as well drawing the curtains on them. Chris opened up his bedroom door, and walked into the hallway, the smell of steak wafting throughout the house. Dinner was definitely ready.

Chris walked downstairs, once again taking mind of his sprained ankle, and spotted his dad's suit jacket on the chair in the living room. He walked into the kitchen where he saw his dad reading the newspaper and his mom cooking steak on the stove.

"Ah! It's good that you're down! Dinner's just about ready!" his mom said, and upon hearing this, Chris' dad turned his attention away from the newspaper and to Chris. "Christopher!" he called out, placing the newspaper down on the kitchen table and walking over to Chris. He hugged Chris briefly and patted him on the back.

"Your mother told me about what happened last night! I'm proud of what you did son. You must really like Ashley to do what you did last night". Chris smiled and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, not really knowing what to say. "Yeah, I really do like her. We're together now, actually" Chris responded, blushing slightly.

"From the few times we've met her, she seems like a nice girl" his father responded, sitting back down at the table and picking his newspaper up again. Chris walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for himself. His mother took out plates and placed the steaks on them, putting the plates back on the dinner table. The three of them had dinner together, occasionally talking about the events of last night, but having an overall good time. Chris finished his dinner, thanked his mom, and then proceeded to go back upstairs to his room. It was 7:16, so he would probably go watch Netflix or play some video games until he was tired enough to go to bed. Luckily enough, the two and a half hour power nap Chris took when he got home made him feel tons better, though his two hour conversation with Ashley may have also contributed to his raised spirits.

Chris walked upstairs and into his room, opting to leave the door open since he wasn't planning on napping. He walked over to his desk and sat down in the cushioned chair, which was much more cushioned than the ones in the ranger station. Chris really liked his desk. On the left side there were a few pictures in frames, one of Chris at his 8th grade graduation, another at his high school graduation last year, and a few from memorable class trips. There was also a picture of him and Ashley standing together in front of the Statue of Liberty, when both their families had gone on vacation to New York City. Chris also kept a picture of the gang from when they played their World Series baseball game in the park last year. Mike was in the middle, smiling and proudly holding the fake trophy they ordered online for $10, a sign that his team won their week long World Series. Chris and Ashley were standing next to each other, smiling, even though they were both on opposite teams. The rest of the gang was scattered throughout the picture, smiling at the camera. Even Emily was giving off one of her rare smiles. Chris remembered this game happening in April, two months after Beth and Hannah disappeared. It was definitely bittersweet, but he remembered that they all had so much fun that week. That week of playing baseball really brought them together, and was the thing that finally brought them all of the rut of feeling guilty for what happened. Their game would definitely feel weird this year without Josh.

On the right side of his desk was a collection of all the birthday cards he received last year. There was also a bobble head Darth Vader on his desk, which Ashley bought him last year, who was guarding the birthday card she sent him. Chris' digital clock was behind that, as well as a cup full of pens, pencils, and highlighters. As Chris looked around his desk and reminisced about the past, his phone buzzed from across the room. Chris quickly typed in the password for his laptop and then got out of his chair, heading towards his nightstand. He picked up his phone and saw it was Ashley, so he unlocked it and opened up his text message app.

A: _Hey_

C: _Hey, something wrong?_

A: _Not at all! Just bored :P_

C: _Well, I'll do my best to make you un bored :P_

C: _How's your eye?_

A: _It's better, I guess. I've had an icepack on it most of the time I've been home, so it's cold more than anything :P_

A: _Btw, I still have your jacket. My mom washed it for you. I'll bring it over tomorrow_

C: _Wow, I completely forgot about that :P_

It was about a minute before Ashley responded back, making Chris slightly worried. But then he smiled to himself, knowing what was taking her so long to respond.

A: _Yeah, I think we both wanted to get home asap_

C: _You're reading a Percy Jackson book right now, aren't you?_

Another minute had gone by before Ashley sent texted him back. When she did, she sent a picture she took of herself sitting in the bean bag in her room, smiling and holding a Percy Jackson book in her hand, a bookmark placed about a quarter of the way into the book. She texted " _I sure am :P"_ right after sending the picture, making Chris smile.

C: _Well, I'll let you get to it. You're only on the third book, so you need to pick up the pace :P_

A: _I'll have plenty of time to catch up on the series tomorrow :P_

C: _You better start now then :P. Good night Ash :)_

A: _Good_ _night Chris :)_

At that, Chris exited out of the app and put his phone back on the nightstand, wanting to let it charge for as long as possible. He then got up from his bed and walked back to his desk, sitting down and getting comfortable in his chair. Chris loaded up a random Total War game, and played it until 11, when he got so tired that he could barely concentrate on the game. Chris exited out of the game, and turned off his laptop, the lid making a light thudding sound when he closed it. He yawned and got up from his chair, limping slightly over to his dresser where he picked out a set of pajamas. Chris quickly changed, and opted instead to bring his clothes over to the hamper instead of playing another game of basketball with himself. He'd have to put his clothes in the washer tomorrow morning. Chris walked back over to his bed, and laid down in it, bringing the blankets over him. He let out one final yawn and rested his head onto his pillow. Much like his nap earlier, Chris slowly drifted to sleep thinking of Ashley, thankful that she was safe.

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 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I tried to incorporate a lot in this chapter, to really give a feel for Chris, Ashley and their neighborhood and figured it was best to put it all in one chapter, rather than breaking it up into multiple parts. Also, did the texting part feel right in this chapter? It'd be great if you guys could leave feedback! Anyway, I hope you all have a great day!**


	8. The Day After

**Happy Tuesday guys! I just hit over 1k views on this story too, so I wanna thank you all for the support! It always brightens my day when I see people having fun reading my fanfiction! Once again, this is a pretty long chapter, so enjoy!**

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Well, it turns out he did catch a cold. Chris opened up his eyes and blinked away the morning grogginess, groaning slightly. He felt so sore, and his ankle hurt pretty bad. His nose was also runny, and with the tissue box across the room on his desk, Chris had to wipe his nose on his sleeve. Seems like the physical affects of last night hadn't hit him until now. Sunlight seemed to begin to stream through his curtains, so Chris rolled his head to the right to read the clock. He squinted until the red digits on his clock read 7:59 AM.

Chris sat up in his bed and stretched, groaning as he shaked away the usual morning grogginess. Chris let out a sigh when he finished stretching and reached over to his nightstand, patting it until he felt his glasses. He took them in his hands and put them on, everything becoming much clearer. Chris then reached underneath his nightstand to unplug his phone charger, making sure to take the cord out of his phone as well. Chris pressed the home button, his phone shining to life. He opened up the messages app and sent Ashley a quick text.

C: _Morning Ash :)_

Ashley was most likely just waking up herself, and a minute passed before she responded.

A: _Morning Chris :)_

A: _Got any amazing plans for today?_

C: _Well, if you count going to the doctor about my sprained ankle amazing, then yeah_

A: _Sounds like tons of fun :P_

A: _What time are you going?_

C: _No idea_

A: _Oh, cause I was wondering if I could come over today. It's alright if I can't_

C: _No, it's fine! I'll go ask my mom when my appointment is_

Chris put his phone back on the nightstand and swung his legs off his bed. He limped over to the door, the pain in his ankle more prominent than yesterday, and opened up his bedroom door. Chris walked out into the hallway and proceeded to the top of the stairs, where he could smell freshly brewed coffee. But rather than walking down them, he called downstairs for his mom.

"Mom?" Chris called from the upstairs, hoping that she was in the kitchen or living room.

"Yes honey?" she responded, Chris guessing she was in the kitchen. "When's my doctor's appointment?" he asked. "Not until 3:30, but you should at least take a shower before we go" she responded in between sips of coffee.

"Thanks. Also, is it alright if Ashley comes over today?" Chris asked, hoping she would say yes. "Of course!" his mom responded enthusiastically. "She's always welcome here!"

A smile came across Chris' face when he heard his mom's response. "Thanks mom!" he said, and limped back to his room. Chris entered into his room again and sat down on his bed, massaging his ankle. He picked up his phone from the nightstand and texted Ashley back.

C: _My appointment's at 3:30, and my mom's alright with you coming over!_

A: _Thanks so much Chris_

C: _Anything for you my lady :P_

A: _Ugh :P_

A: _I'll come over around 10, is that good with you?_

C: _I can't wait :)_

A: _Cya then!_

C: _Cya!_

Chris smiled as he exited the app and put his phone back on the nightstand. He got up from his bed and walked over to the dresser, taking out a set of fresh clothes to change into after his shower. Chris took the pile of clothes in his hands and limped over to the bathroom, where he quickly used it before collecting some towels from one of the cabinets. Chris took a brief five minute shower, leaning against the wall because of his ankle. Once he felt he was properly clean, Chris turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, drying himself. He changed into the new undergarments and a plaid, brown flannel shirt, as well as a pair of jeans. Chris took his pajamas and walked out of the shower, heading towards his room. He put his pajamas in the hamper, and brought it downstairs with him.

Chris limped down the stairs and carried the hamper with him through the living room and kitchen to the washer/dryer room. He briefly said good morning to his mom as he passed, followed by her responding good morning back as well. Chris opened up the door to the washer/dryer room and turned on the light, closing the door behind him. He dumped the hamper full of clothes into the washer, poured some detergent in and then started the machine up.

Chris walked out of the washer/dryer room with the now empty hamper in his hands. He sneezed as he walked into the kitchen, prompting his mom to say bless you. He thanked her and walked upstairs, placing the hamper back in his room. Chris then took his phone from the nightstand and placed it in the front pocket of his jeans. Ashley was definitely right when she said that he always had his phone.

Chris then proceeded to walk back to the bathroom, wanting to check his hair. Upon seeing that it was still somewhat messy, Chris rolled up the sleeves of his flannel shirt and took a small bit of gel and applied it to his hair. Chris smiled to himself in the mirror. For some reason, thinking about Ashley coming over made him somewhat nervous, but excited nervous. Chris absent mindedly began combing his hair, wanting to look at least somewhat presentable to Ashley. Once he felt that his hair was up to par, Chris headed out of the bathroom and proceeded downstairs, glancing at the clock in his room as he walked past it. It read 8:17.

Chris headed downstairs and walked to the kitchen, his stomach grumbling. He walked into the kitchen, and grabbed a piece of bread, placing in the toaster. Chris' mom was sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper, sipping her coffee.

"So, when's Ashley coming over?" his mom said, flipping the page of the newspaper.

"Uh, around 10" Chris responded, looking through the fridge for butter. His mom could hear the congestion in his voice. "Christopher, did you catch a cold from last night?" she asked.

"I'm fine mom, I'm my nose is just a little runny and I have a bit of congestion" he assured her. His mom wasn't completely convinced, but replied "Alright, just make sure to keep warm".

The piece of bread from earlier popped from the toaster and Chris took it out, buttering it. He quickly ate it, reading his Twitter feed while he did, and then headed back upstairs to his room, eagerly awaiting Ashley. Chris entered into his room and the first thing he looked at was the clock. His heart fell slightly, seeing that it was only 9:06. He had another hour to go, but at least now he could think of what to get Ashley for Valentine's Day.

Chris wanted to do something special for Ashley on Valentine's Day. He would of course get her a gift, but he wanted to make the day memorable for her. With an hour to go before Ashley would arrive, Chris turned on his laptop and opened up notepad, ready to list off ideas.

Chris thought of everything he could. But nothing really jumped out to him as something was special. Chris knew that Ashley would be happy with just spending time with him, in fact some of the best times they've ever had were when they were spending time with each other. And then that's when Chris finally knew what to do for Ashley.

Chris highlighted the various different ideas he typed into notepad and deleted them all. He began quickly typing up a checklist of things to do before Valentine's Day, pausing every so often to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Chris would definitely need Sam's help if he wanted to do this. Chris finished typing up his checklist for now, and saved it under " _Ashley Valentine's Day Surprise"_. Right when Chris had exited out of notepad, he heard someone knocking at the door downstairs. He looked down at the time on his computer and saw that it was already 9:56. It was probably Ashley.

Chris was just about to get out of his chair to get the front door, but his mom was already unlocking it. He sat back down and smoothed a crease in his shirt, hearing Ashley and his mom exchange greetings downstairs. Chris could hear his mom say "He's upstairs in his room" and Ashley responding "Thanks!" followed by the sound of someone walking upstairs.

Chris checked his laptop one final time, wanting to make sure he exited out of the checklist. He didn't want Ashley to see what he had planned for her.

"Hey" Chris heard Ashley say, and he turned around to see her standing in the doorway, smiling. She was wearing a red Star Wars hoodie and a pair of jeans. Her face no longer had any cuts or bruises on it, and the swelling on her eye had diminished to the point where it was barely noticeable. Ashley also had her blue backpack with her, which she placed in the corner of his room. "Hey" Chris responded back smiling. He got up from his desk chair at walked towards her, and Ashley began walking into his room and met him halfway. They met together in a hug, enjoying each other's company.

"What's with your bag? I thought you weren't going to classes today" Chris said, pulling away from Ashley. "I'm not. I brought some stuff with me just in case we get bored, or something" she responded. Chris' ankle was starting to hurt him, so he walked over to his bed and sat down on it.

"So what'd you bring?" Chris asked, rubbing his ankle. Ashley reached over for her bag in the corner and slung it over her shoulder. She then walked over to Chris' desk chair and turned it around so she could face Chris. Ashley sat down in the chair putting the backpack on her knee, and said "Promise you won't laugh?", blushing slightly.

"Cross my heart" Chris said, making a crossing motion over his chest. Ashley unzipped her backpack and reached for a long box. At first, Chris could only hear jangling sounds, but when Ashley took the box out from her bag, a wide grin came over his face. She was holding a Monopoly box in her hands.

"We never got to finish our game, so I thought that maybe we could today" Ashley said, smiling sheepishly.

Last month, in January when they were taking their midterms, the gang all crashed at Matt's place one day. They all had an exam later in the day, so they decided to carpool together, thus leading to Matt suggesting they all crash at his place until then. They did just that, and Chris remembered that Ashley brought the exact game of Monopoly that day that she had in her hands now. Since Ashley already studied the material a million times, she asked if anyone wanted to play a game of Monopoly with her. At first no one wanted to play it with her. They weren't being mean or nasty to Ashley, but they were all either studying or just weren't in the mood to play it. Chris remembered seeing the defeated look in her eyes as she put the box back in her bag, but he happily volunteering to play a game of Monopoly with her. He remembered seeing the spark of happiness in Ashley's eyes when he volunteered, and Chris remembered making lame jokes as he set up the game, Ashley laughing at them anyway. They never did finish that game though.

"If you're ready to lose, then sure" Chris teasingly said, getting up from his bed even though his ankle hurt like hell. "You're on!" Ashley said back, putting her backpack on the floor next to Chris' chair. Chris sat down on the wooden floor of his bedroom, trying to find a comfortable position to sit in with his sprained ankle. Ashley sat cross legged opposite of him, placing the Monopoly box between them. Chris decided that sitting cross legged was the best position for him too, and opened up the lid of the Monopoly box while Ashley was scrolling through something on her phone.

"Wait, how are we going to set up the game? I don't remembered where we left off" Chris commented as he unfolded the game board and placed it between them. "I took a picture of it before we packed it up, I'm trying to find it now" Ashley responded as she continued to scroll through her pictures in search of the picture of their game from last month.

Chris began to shuffle the chance and community chest cards when Ashley exclaimed "Ah ha!". "Found the picture!" she happily said, and together they set up the board according to the picture on Ashley's phone. It took them around 10 minutes to get everything ready, what with needing to put everything in the right place and Chris making his cheesy jokes, which Ashley smiled at even though they were pretty bad.

Once they had gotten all the pieces sorted out, Chris being the top hat and Ashley being the dog, as well as their money and property cards, Chris and Ashley resumed playing their game from a month ago. Chris was always good at board games. After playing for almost an hour, Chris controlled more than half of the properties on the board. But Ashley refused to give up. Chris began absentmindedly flipping through his property cards as Ashley began her turn. She sighed, trying to find a way to win.

Chris looked up from his cards and smiled when he saw Ashley. She was lying on her stomach, feet propped up on the radiator. She also had her elbows propped up on the floor, her head resting in her hands. Her eyes began darting around the board, trying to find some way to trick Chris up. Ashley looked up from the board to see Chris smiling at her, making her blush. "Something wrong?" she asked, her feet lightly tapping against the radiator.

"You look really cute right now" Chris responded, blushing lightly as well. Ashley smiled back and let out another sigh. "Well, I think you win" she conceded, getting off her stomach and sitting on the floor cross legged again. "You were the top hat, right?" Chris said, putting his property cards on the floor. Ashley looked at him confused. "No, I was the dog" she responded, but then her expression turned into a smile. He was giving her the win. "Nope, I'm pretty sure I was the dog" Chris said, collecting his property cards and handing them to Ashley.

"You've bested me today, my lady" Chris cheesily said, bowing his head slightly. Ashley put the cards he just handed her on the floor and stood up. She walked over to Chris and kneeled down to him, wrapping him up in her arms. Even in a silly game of Monopoly, Chris was a gentleman. Neither of them said anything, instead they just held each other.

Their embrace was broken by Chris' mom calling from downstairs. "Chris, honey! I made you grilled cheese for lunch! I also made some for Ashley in case she's hungry!" "Thanks mom!" Chris called back, looking at the clock. It was already 11:43. They had somehow been playing Monopoly for almost 2 hours. "We can pack up the game after lunch" Ashley said as she got up from the floor.

"Sounds good to me" Chris said, moving carefully because of his ankle. He winced in pain as he tried to get up, prompting Ashley to immediately kneel down to him. "I'll go get our lunch" she said, helping Chris get up.

"It's fine Ash, you don't have to do that" Chris began, but she was already helping him up and guiding him towards his bed. Chris sat down on the comfy mattress and massaged his ankle, trying to alleviate some of the pain. "I'll be right back" Ashley said, jumping over the Monopoly board and exiting Chris' room, heading downstairs. Once Ashley had left, Chris began to look around his room until she came back. Chris looked over at his phone on his nightstand and was immediately reminded of his surprise for Ashley on Valentine's Day. Chris only had 10 days to make sure everything was set. He wanted everything to be perfect for it.

Chris scooted over on his bed and reached for his phone, opened up the messages app and sent Sam a quick text about his plans for Ashley, adding that he would explain them to her later. Chris heard Ashley coming back upstairs, so he quickly put his phone back on the nightstand and went back to massaging his ankle. She walked into his room with 2 plates of grilled cheese in her hands, handing one to Chris. "Thanks" he replied, followed by Ashley humming "Mh hmm" in response. She took her own plate and sat down in Chris' desk chair.

As the two of them began to eat, Chris said "So, what else did you bring?", striking up conversation. Ashley took another bite before setting her plate down on Chris' desk, reaching for her backpack on the floor. "Well, I brought my laptop in case you wanted to play Civ 5, and I also brought my Percy Jackson book" she replied, taking the items out as she listed them. Chris smiled. He loved that Ashley wasn't like most girls. She wasn't into makeup that much, and she didn't care about gossip. Ashley was honest, caring, and loving. And Chris loved her because of that.

"A game of Civ 5 sounds great" Chris said, finishing up his grilled cheese. "Let me go pack up our game first" he added as he placed his plate on the nightstand. Chris got up from his bed carefully and walked over to where their game was, gently sitting down on the floor. Chris began collecting the paper money and had deposited all of it back in the box when Ashley had set down her plate and sat down next to Chris to help him. Together they packed up the game, Chris making his usual jokes. He took the top hat game piece off the board and placed it on his head, smiling.

"Fits like a glove!" Chris jokingly said, making Ashley laugh. Chris loved her laugh. It was genuine and full of happiness. "You look handsome as ever" Ashley responded as she reached over to kiss his cheek. Chris blushed and reached up for the top hat on his head, handing it to Ashley to place it in the box. They finished packing up the game and Ashley put the lid on the box. She got up and carried the Monopoly box with her to her backpack, where she put it in. Ashley was about to take out her laptop, but then she looked up at Chris.

"Wait, don't you have your English essay due tomorrow?" Ashley asked, hand still in her backpack. Chris had completely forgotten about his essay. He was having so much fun with Ashley that he just brushed that off to the side. "Yeah" Chris answered sadly, wanting to play Civ 5 with Ashley instead of writing an essay.

Ashley smiled and said "Come on, I'll do it with you" as she walked over to Chris and helped him up. "Good, because I'd probably pass out from boredom if I had to write it on my own" Chris said with a smile, making Ashley laugh. With Ashley's help, Chris walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair, opening up his laptop lid. His computer sprang to life and Chris typed in the password, his desktop opening up. Chris began to get nervous that the note with Ashley's surprise was still on the screen, but luckily it wasn't.

Chris opened up a new Word document and explained the assignment to Ashley. He had to type a 2 page report on the impact of 1 author during the American Revolution. "That's so easy!" Ashley said happily. "We can finish that in no time!". Chris just smiled and shook his head. He loved how excited Ashley got over literature and writing.

For the next 2 hours, the pair of them worked on Chris' essay, researching and typing it up. By the end of it, Chris had at least 5 different tabs open about Thomas Paine, while Ashley was sitting on his bed with her own laptop open to about 10 different tabs about Thomas Paine. Chris was bored out of his mind with all this research, but Ashley making cheesy jokes and just being with him made it a whole lot more bearable. Once they had all their research done, Chris began typing up his essay, with Ashley kneeling behind his chair while she rested her head on his shoulder. Ashley wrapped her arms around Chris' waist from behind and watched him type up his essay, pointing out any errors he made and helping him words some paragraphs. Chris smiled. He was the luckiest guy in the world.

At long last, they both finished Chris' essay. He saved it under " _Couldn't have done this without Ashley"_ causing her to let out a small laugh. Chris turned himself around in his chair to face Ashley and kissed her cheek. Ashley kept her arms wrapped around Chris and the two of them looked at each other, smiling.

"Chris! It's almost 3, you should start getting ready now!" Chris' mom called from downstairs. The two of them sighed, neither wanting to leave. "Alright mom, I'll be down soon" Chris replied as Ashley unwrapped her arms from his waist.

"Can I come back after your doctor's appointment?" Ashley asked hopefully as she slung her blue backpack over her shoulder. "Of course" Chris said with a smile as he got up from his chair. The two of them walked out of Chris' room together and walked towards the stairs. Chris was about to start going down, but Ashley stopped him short.

"Nope. You're gonna hurt yourself" Ashley said, stepping in front of Chris and taking the first step down. She turned around and held her hand out for Chris. He smiled and took her hand, the pair of them walking downstairs on step at a time. When they finally made it downstairs, Chris squeezed Ashley's hand and smiled. "Thanks" he said, and Ashley smiled and squeezed his hand back.

Ashley bent down and picked up her boots off the rug near the front door, handing Chris his own boots as well. His mom was in the kitchen, putting something in her purse while both Chris and Ashley put their own boots and jackets on.

"Oh! I almost forgot" Ashley said as she finished putting her boots on. She walked over to the coat rack above where they kept their boots and took both her jacket and Chris' blue parka off the hooks. She walked back to Chris and handed him his blue parka while she put on her own pink jacket. "My mom washed your jacket last night. Sorry if it shrank a little" Ashley said with a smile. Chris smiled back at her and put on his blue parka, checking his boots to make sure they were laced tightly.

"Alright, all ready to go?" Chris' mom said as she entered into the living room. "Yep" Chris replied as he zipped up his parka. "Ashley, do you want a ride home?" his mom asked as she walked towards the front door and began to open it.

"No, it's fine I can walk" Ashley began, but Chris wasn't going to let Ashley walk home alone.

"Come on, we're driving past your house anyway" Chris said, trying to convince Ashley. She smiled at him and said "Alright then, I'll join you". "Thank you" Ashley quickly added as she turned to face Chris' mom.

"It's not a problem" his mom responded, and the three of them left Chris' house and got into his mom's car. Chris opened up the passenger door for Ashley, and, not wanting her to feel lonely in the backseat, climbed in after her. Ashley smiled and laced her fingers with Chris', enjoying his company. They drove out of the driveway and after 5 minutes, came upon Ashley's house. Ashley squeezed Chris' hand one more time before wishing him luck, and thanked Chris' mom as she opened the passenger door and climbed out. She waved to Chris and and climbed up her front steps to her door. His mom pulled away as Ashley climbed the front steps to her house. Chris got up and kneeled in his seat, looking out the back window of his mom's car to make sure Ashley was alright. Chris saw her front door close and sat back down, taking his phone out to entertain himself as they drove to the doctor's.

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 **Not gonna lie, this took a little bit to write up, but I do wanna ask, was this chapter too mundane? I want to include parts where Chris and Ashley are enjoying each other's company and having fun, but while not being mundane. Opinions on that would be greatly appreciated. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	9. An Afternoon of Fun

**Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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Chris really wanted to be playing Civ 5 with Ashley in his room right now. Doctors always made Chris nervous. The waiting room for the doctor was dead silent, and there were only two other people there besides Chris and his mother. Also, Chris really didn't like needles. Like _really_ didn't like needles. He began to tap his hand against his knee repeatedly, a nervous tick he had developed. He sighed. Maybe going on his phone would distract him from being nervous.

Just as he thought that, his phone vibrated in his pocket, disrupting the silence in the room. He must have forgotten to put it on silent. Chris took his phone out of his pocket and saw that Sam had texted him back. He unlocked his phone and read Sam's text.

S: _Aww that's so sweet! I'm sure Ashley will love it! I'm busy today, but you can come over tomorrow and we can start practicing! 4 sound good?_

Chris smiled. He couldn't wait until Valentine's Day. Chris sent her back a text saying that 4 was great, and thanked her for helping him out with this. As soon as Chris had hit send, he was called in next for his appointment. Chris put his phone back in his pocket and proceeded to the patient's room.

The appointment itself went by fairly quickly. The doctor asked what happened, what was wrong and such, followed by Chris having to lie and say it was a sports injury. Chris only received a brace, no medication since it wasn't too bad. The doctor instructed him to try not to walk too much, but he could still drive to and from school. Also no blood was drawn, and no needles were involved, which Chris was beyond thankful for. Chris left the doctor's office with his mother, a black brace around his ankle which worked wonders in helping him move.

Chris hopped into the front passenger seat of his mom's car, happy to be done with his appointment. As his mom started up the car and drove away, Chris took his phone out and started texting Ashley.

C: _Hey! Just finished up at the doctor's_

A: _It's about time :P. I already started reading the 4th Percy Jackson book_

"Hey mom" Chris began as he looked up from his phone. "Yes honey?". "Can Ashley come back over when we get home?" Chris asked. His mom slowed down as they approached a red light. "If her parents are alright with it, then of course" she replied, putting down the sun visor. "Thanks mom" Chris said, as he looked back down towards his phone.

C: _Btw, you can come back over when I get home_

A: _Thanks :)_

Chris smiled to himself. Even having simple conversations with Ashley made him happy. Chris spent the rest of the ride home thinking and planning out his surprise for Ashley. He'd need to find his iHome that was in his closet somewhere, not to mention he'd also have to have his suit pressed so it looked nice. Chris wanted to make sure that Ashley had the best Valentine's Day ever.

Chris was lost in thought about his plans when he looked up from the car window and noticed that his mom was already pulling into their street. Chris put his phone back in his pocket and unbuckled his seatbelt as his mom parked the car in the driveway. He opened up his door and stepped out into the snow, his boots making a crunching sound as it came in contact with the ground. Chris walked around the car and onto the sidewalk, where he spotted Ashley wearing her pink striped beanie a couple of blocks away. She waved at him and smiled, prompting Chris to give her a wave and a smile back. Rather than making a right to the path that led to his front door, however, Chris continued straight ahead, and began to quickly walk towards Ashley. The smile on her face grew even larger when she saw Chris walking towards her.

When Chris had finally made it up to her, he offered her his hand, which she happily accepted.

"So, how's your ankle?" Ashley asked, her breath showing as they walked together. Chris lifted up his right pant leg with his free hand to reveal his brace. "They gave me a brace, and told me to not walk on it too much. But I can drive us to and from school, so that's good" Chris responded as he rolled his pant leg back down. "No needles, right?" Ashley asked, making Chris smile. She remembered his fear of needles. "None at all!" he said happily and Ashley smiled.

"So, ready to play Civ 5 for hours on end?" Chris jokingly said as they approached his house. "With you, of course" Ashley replied and the both of them smiled. The pair of them walked up the front steps, and Ashley walked through the front door as Chris held it open for her. He shut and locked it behind them and they both let out sighs of relief at being in the warm house. Chris helped Ashley take her jacket off and hung it on the coat rack, taking his own jacket off next and placing it next to hers. Ashley also took off her pink beanie and placed it in the hood of her jacket, while Chris took off his boots and placed them on the mat. Ashley followed suit, and they both walked upstairs to Chris' room.

They walked into Chris' room and Ashley went to sit down on Chris' bed while Chris went to sit at his desk. Chris opened up his laptop's lid and began to load up Civ 5 as he heard Ashley unzip her bag behind him and take out her own laptop. Chris heard Ashley moving around behind him and when he looked over at her, Chris saw that she scooted herself over to the foot of the bed.

"I left a seat open for you" Ashley said as she patted the open space on Chris' bed. He smiled and unplugged his laptop from its charger and climbed onto his bed with Ashley. They placed their laptops between the two of them on Chris' bed and they both got comfy on his bed. Chris handed Ashley one of his blankets, which she accepted with a smile and draped over her legs. The familiar sounds of Civ 5 began to play out of both of their laptops as the main menu came up. Chris set up the game for them, and as it loaded up, Ashley took one of the blankets from her side and gave it to Chris, which he wore like a cape.

"What? I'm playing as France, so I need to look royal like" Chris said with a smile as Ashley laughed. The game loaded up, and they both got comfortable on Chris' bed for an afternoon of fun. They engrossed in the game quickly, and joked, laughed and had a great time with each other. Chris and Ashley always had smiles on their faces whenever they were with each other, and this time was no different. Before Chris knew it, he could smell his mom cooking dinner downstairs, and when he looked at the clock, he saw it was already 6:21. As Chris turned his attention back to his laptop, he could feel Ashley's phone vibrate on the bed. Ashley reached over for it and read the text she just received. She sighed and quickly typed something back in response.

"My mom wants me back home, she's cooking dinner" Ashley said with a sigh as she exited out of their game and shut the lid on her laptop. "Hey Chris" Ashley began as he closed the lid on his own laptop.

"What's up?" Chris asked, as he got off his bed and carried his laptop back to his desk. Ashley hopped off Chris' bed and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him. Chris turned around and hugged Ashley back, wrapping his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

"Thanks. For everything. After what happened at the lodge, I just wanted to spend time with you, and today, I had so much fun just being with you" Ashley admitted

"I love you so much" Ashley said as she buried her head in Chris' chest. "I love you too Ash" Chris said as he hugged her back, and they both held each other for a few minutes. "I had the best time ever with you today" Chris said, breaking the silence between them. "Except going to the doctor's made me nervous as hell" Chris added. He heard Ashley let out a small laugh, which made Chris smile. Chris glanced out of his window and saw that it was lightly snowing outside, a few snowflakes sticking to the screen outside. It must have just begun.

"We better get you home before the snow picks up" Chris said as he gently pushed away from Ashley. She looked out of his window in response and said "Maybe they'll cancel all classes tomorrow!", hopefulness in her voice.

"I never thought I'd hear you wish for no classes. You love going to school" Chris responded with a smile. "I love you more than anything else" Ashley said with a smile, reaching up to kiss his cheek. Chris' cheeks slightly turned red and he smiled. He reached down and picked up Ashley's bag next to this chair, handing it to her. As Chris plugged his laptop back into its charger, Ashley walked back over to his bed, placed her bag on his bed and unzipped her bag, putting her laptop inside of it, while the jangling sounds of the Monopoly pieces could be heard.

Ashley finished packing her stuff and zipped up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she turned back around. "Ready to go?" Chris said, standing next to his bedroom door.

"Chris, you don't need to walk me home, you need to rest your ankle" Ashley said as she walked across Chris' room. "It's fine, I want to walk you home" Chris responded. "Besides, I need to get used to walking with this brace on anyway" he added. Ashley loved how much of a gentleman Chris was.

"Alright, but if your ankle starts to hurt, tell me, ok?" Ashley said to him as they walked out of his room together. "Alright" Chris conceded, and they both walked downstairs.

Chris took both of their jackets off the coat rack, handing Ashley her dark red parka and pink striped beanie. "I'm going to go walk Ashley home, I'll be back in a few minutes!" Chris called out to his parents, who were probably in the kitchen. "Ok!" his parents responded back in unison, and upon hearing their response, Chris opened up the front door and held it open for Ashley. She gave him a smile and walked outside to be greeted by the cool air. Chris followed after her, and while he locked the front door, Ashley leaned against the railing on the front steps and looked around at the light dusting of snow. Both Chris and Ashley loved winter the most out of all the seasons. Summer was nice too, especially since that meant that the gang could all hang out more often, but winter was so much more beautiful. Winter always meant the two of them hanging out at each other's house or the bookstore, laughing and having a good time while a snowstorm raged outside. The cold weather also now gave Chris and Ashley an excuse to snuggle up with each other, not that they really needed one.

Chris had just shut the screen door and took Ashley's hand when she commented "It really is beautiful, huh". As they walked down the front steps and on the sidewalk in the direction of Ashley's house, Chris planted a kiss on her beanie and said with a smile "Not as beautiful as you". Ashley blushed and squeezed his hand lightly, and the two of them continued in the direction of Ashley's house, looking around at the beautiful scenery around them. It really was breathtaking.

A light layer of snow was beginning to stick on the ground, and as they continued on with their walk, Chris diverted his thoughts from the scenery around him to his surprise for Ashley. He would start practicing with Sam tomorrow after he dropped Ashley off at her house when they were done with classes. Valentine's Day was next week, so Chris had to get start getting ready for the surprise soon. A smile crept on Chris' face as he continued to plan out Ashley's Valentine's Day surprise, to the point where even Ashley knew he was thinking about something pretty hard.

"You've got that look on your face" Ashley said with a smile as she looked up at him. "What's going on in your nerdy head?" she asked jokingly. Chris smiled back at her. She knew him so well. "Just thinking about what I'm going to do for you on Valentine's Day" he replied, unable to keep himself from smiling. Chris didn't want to spoil her surprise, but he at least wanted to get Ashley excited for Valentine's Day.

"Chris, you don't have to get me anything, really" Ashley began. "You're the best gift I could ever ask for" she genuinely said with a smile as bright as the sun. The smile on Chris' face grew even larger, to the point where his cheeks almost hurt from how much he was smiling.

The two of them continued on their walk, the gentle fall of snow around them creating a picturesque image of their already beautiful neighborhood. They finally came up on Ashley's house and walked up to her front door, where they gave each other one last hug and said goodnight, even though they were definitely going to text each other later tonight. As Chris began his journey back to his house, he stuck his hands in his pockets and began whistling happily. Chris was so happy that when he felt no one was looking, he awkwardly skipped on the sidewalk like they do in those old movies. It was cheesy as hell, but Chris didn't care. He was the happiest man in the world.

When Chris made it home, he did his usual routine; eat dinner and try to watch Netflix or play some video games, but that would eventually lead to him texting Ashley. Tonight they cracked jokes about their professors and talked about the Percy Jackson book series, which Ashley was engrossed in. Chris decided at 10:47 to end his hours long texting conversation with Ashley, seeing as they both had classes tomorrow and he was driving them. They both bid each other goodnight again, and Chris placed his phone on his nightstand as he quickly changed into his pajamas.

Chris counted his blessings that night while he lay in his bed. A lot of stuff happened on Saturday, stuff that most teens and young adults probably never had, and never will have to deal with. His ankle hurt like hell without the brace on, and Ashley had gotten a black eye. But that was the worst that had happened to them, and Chris considered himself damn lucky because of that. He was dating the girl of his dreams, and he honestly couldn't imagine a world without Ashley. Chris didn't want to imagine it either. They were both happy, and everything was good. Life was good.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I love writing these chapters up, and I hope you love reading them! Cya all on Tuesday!**


	10. A Winter Wonderland

**Happy Tuesday everybody! Hope you all had a great July 4th, and hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Mother Nature really did a number on their neighborhood last night. Chris had just woken up and sent Ashley a good morning text when he wondered why it seemed colder than usual. Chris walked over to the window and when he drew the curtains, he looked in shock at the snow outside.

"Woah" Chris said to himself as he looked at the winter wonderland around him. Almost every tree in the neighborhood was covered in snow, and icicles were hanging off the awnings of every house. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground, and the sidewalk was covered in a sheet of ice, the roads probably in the same condition. Even though Chris didn't have classes until 10, Ashley's classes began at 8:30, and if they wanted to get on campus on time, they'd have to leave soon. Chris heard his phone buzz from across the room and limped over to his nightstand, making a mental note to put on his brace before he went downstairs. Chris unlocked his phone and read Ashley's text.

A: _Morning :)_

A: _Have you looked outside yet? It snowed so much last night!_

C: _Yeah, too bad classes aren't cancelled though_

A: _I know :(_

C: _I'm gonna go get changed and grab a bite to eat before I pick you up_

A: _Alrighty, but please be careful. I can skip classes again if you don't want to drive with all the ice and snow_

A smile came across Chris' face. Ashley really cared about him more than anything.

C: _I promise I'll be careful. I'll cya in a few minutes!_

A: _Cya then!_

Chris quickly changed out of his pajamas into a fresh set of clothes, opting not to take a shower this morning since he was slightly pressed for time. He pulled an extra warm hoodie depicting a gaming controller over his head and put on his jeans, wanting to keep as warm as possible today. But being with Ashley shouldn't make that a problem at all.

Chris quickly put his pajamas into the hamper across the room and sat on his bed as he put on his ankle brace. There was no way Chris was going to be able to walk in this weather without his brace. As he stood up, the brace make walking on his ankle much more bearable, so Chris quickly took his phone out of its charger and put it in his front jeans' pocket. He hurriedly walked downstairs and walked into the kitchen, where, like yesterday, he placed a piece of bread in the toaster. Chris didn't have enough time to have an actual breakfast, so this was the best he could do.

"Drive safely today, honey, the roads are a little icy" his mother told him as the piece of bread was warming up in the toaster.

"I'll be careful" Chris assured her as he began tapping fingers against the kitchen counter. The piece of bread finally popped from the toaster, prompting Chris to quickly snatch it, regardless of how hot it was. He didn't want to make Ashley wait in the cold for him.

"Do you want coffee or anything honey?" his mom called out as Chris began made his way back upstairs to grab his backpack. "I'm fine" he called down the stairs as he entered into his room and picked up his bag from the corner. Chris quickly checked the time on his clock before he left his room. It was already 7:48. Luckily enough, the drive itself was only about 20 minutes, so Chris should be able to get Ashley to her class on time.

Chris slung his black backpack over his shoulder and proceeded back downstairs, where he laced up his boots, grabbed his blue parka and said goodbye to his mom as he opened the front door. Chris shut the screen door behind him, and was amazed at the scenery around him when he turned around. The snow was beyond a foot high now that Chris saw it in person. He was thankful that the streets were plowed at least, so that wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Chris took his first step on the sidewalk and already almost slipped. Even though he looked silly, Chris stuck his arms out in the air to regain balance. It was a challenge just getting to his car. Once he had regained his balance, Chris turned left and decided to waft through the mound of snow that covered his lawn to get to his car. At least he wouldn't slip and possibly hurt himself on the snow.

Chris made a giant step off the icy pathway that led into his house and into the soft snow. The snow crunched around him as Chris trudged through the foot high snow, eventually reaching the front door of his car. He opened up the car door and hopped into the driver's seat, happy that the weight of snow was finally off his boots. Chris put the key in the ignition and turned the heat all the way up in his car. It was freezing right now, but he wanted to make sure it was nice and warm for Ashley.

Chris looked behind him and began to drive out of the driveway, taking extra care of the roads since they could be a little icy. Once Chris had made it out of the driveway, he headed down in the direction of Ashley's house, wondering what her house looked like after the snowstorm that happened last night.

After driving for about 5 minutes, Chris came up onto Ashley's house and parked in front of it. Luckily enough, Chris kept the heat going full blast in his car, so it was toasty now. He turned the heat down a little and took his key out of the ignition. Chris pocketed his car key and opened up his car door, the cold air around him being a stark contrast to his warm car.

Chris walked onto the sidewalk and up to Ashley's front door, where, much like before, he almost fell on the slippery ice. He once again regained his balance and reached forward to grab the railing on the front steps. Chris leaned against the railing as he walked up the steps, which weren't as slippery as the sidewalk. He regained his composure when he reached the front door, brushing some snow off the bottom of his jeans. Chris knocked on Ashley's front door, rubbing his hands together to generate some warmth while he waited.

After a minute of waiting, he heard the front door open and saw Ashley through the screen door. Chris opened up the screen door that was dividing them, and they both smiled at each other. Ashley was all bundled up for the cold. She was wearing her pink beanie, a dark blue parka and a pair of jeans. She also had on her red, fingerless gloves and a fluffy red scarf to match them.

"Oh no! The winter clothes monster ate Ashley!" Chris jokingly said as she stepped outside to meet him on the front step. A smile spread on Ashley's face as she closed and locked the front door. As Chris closed the screen door, Ashley pushed her scarf down and reached up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, making Chris smile even larger.

"Nevermind, Ashley's still here" Chris said, and their smiles grew. Ashley was about to begin walking down the steps when Chris stopped her. "What's wrong?" she said, confused as to why Chris wouldn't let her walk to his car.

"Hand me your backpack" Chris said to her. Ashley obliged, and passed her bag to Chris. "Is something wrong?" she repeated, still confused.

Chris slung her bag over his shoulder and scooped Ashley up in his arms, picking her up bridal style. Ashley began giggling and wrapped her arms around Chris' neck as he carried her over to his car. He didn't want her to slip and hurt herself on the ice. Chris began to slowly walk on the path leading to the sidewalk, and couldn't help but smile when he felt Ashley nuzzling herself into his chest.

She had a smile on her face as she yawned, making herself comfortable in his arms. She felt so cozy and warm despite it being cold out. Chris laughed lightly and said "How are you tired, you just woke up".

Ashley looked up at him with a smile. "I feel so comfortable and safe when I'm with you" she responded honestly, nestling her head in Chris' chest further. Chris craned his head down and kissed Ashley's forehead with a smile on his face. He could see her blush in his arms. Chris loved her so much.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached Chris' car, where Chris gently put Ashley down on the sidewalk, making sure she was alright. He opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in, thanking him. Chris passed Ashley her bag and walked around the car, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Nice and toasty in here" Ashley said with a smile as she put her seatbelt on. "Yeah, no one likes cold buns" Chris joked back, a smile on his face as well. Chris put his key into the ignition and reached to turn on the heat in his car, when he looked over to see Ashley looking at him with a smile on her face.

"Someone's happy for 8 in the morning" Chris said, smiling along with Ashley. Suddenly, she threw her arms around his neck and scooted herself closer to Chris. They stared into each other's eyes and they could see the love in them. Just being with each other made them happy.

"I had a nightmare last night about what happened on the mountain" Ashley said, the smile on her face slowly disappearing. A solemn expression came over Chris' face as he wrapped his arms around Ashley's waist.

"It was about the gun trial. But it started with you pointing the gun at yourself. I begged you to not do it, but you kept the gun pointing at your chin. You shot yourself, but this time you didn't… you didn't….". Ashley paused. Chris could see tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You didn't wake up" Ashley concluded, putting her hands up to her face and sobbing silently into them. Chris hated seeing her cry. He gently took Ashley's hands away from her eyes and pulled her into a hug, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I woke up crying" Ashley continued, her voice breaking slightly. "You were the only thing that kept me going that night in the lodge. You were right there for me the entire night. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't come back". Chris kept holding her, gently rubbing her back.

"I thought that the dream was real for a minute, but then I remembered yesterday" she said, her crying beginning to subside. "I remembered that I had one of the best times ever with my amazing, handsome and caring boyfriend" Ashley said, lifting her head off Chris' shoulder with a small smile on her face.

"I love you" Ashley concluded, placing her head back on Chris' shoulder and tightening her grip on him.

"I love you too" he genuinely responded and the two of them enjoyed each other's company. Neither Chris nor Ashley cared if they were late for class. Nothing else mattered in the world except each other. If Ashley's professor said anything to her about being late, Chris would barge right into her class and tell her professor to shut it, among worse things.

After a few minutes, Chris lightly pushed away from Ashley, but still kept his arms wrapped around her. "I'm also scared about meeting the gang again" Ashley said, wiping away any stray tears that were still on her face.

"Why, you have nothing to be worried about. We've all been friends for years" Chris responded, removing his arms from her waist and instead holding her hands.

"I know, but I'm just nervous. So much happened on Saturday that I'm scared it changed us all. So much that we won't all be friends anymore" she said, worry in her voice. Chris let go of her waist and took her hands in his, still looking into her pretty green eyes.

"Ash, we're all still friends. Maybe not Emily, but she was a bitch to you. You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to. I'm sure that everyone wants to just get together and have fun, and forget about that night" Chris assured her, soothingly rubbing circles in the palms of her hands. "Besides, I'll be right by your side, all the time" he promised her.

Ashley could feel a wave of comfort and relief wash over her at hearing Chris say that. She immediately felt better and relaxed in her seat. Ashley reached up and gave Chris a quick peck on the lips, smiling up at him. "You're right" she conceded.

"Thanks for this Chris" she said as she unwrapped her arms from Chris' neck. "You're the only person who I know I can trust and actually talk to".

Chris smiled back and gently let go of Ashley's hands. "I'm always here for you Ash" Chris replied, looking into her beautiful eyes one last time before turning around and placing his hands on the steering wheel. They had spent about 5 minutes talking in his car, but Chris wouldn't have cared if they spent 5 hours.

Chris pulled out of his parking spot in front of Ashley's house and began to drive them to school. After talking with Chris, Ashley felt tons better, so she reached over and turned on the radio, the speakers buzzing to life with music that they both loved. Even though it was snowy, cold, and they had to go to classes, the music instantly raised their spirits. If they weren't in his car, Chris probably would've started dancing with Ashley.

They had been driving for about 10 minutes, when Chris checked the clock as he slowed down at a red light. They had only 15 minutes until Ashley's class began. Chris began to get a little worried, knowing that Ashley hated getting to class late. Almost right on cue, Ashley looked up from her phone and exclaimed "My morning class got cancelled! My professor just emailed the entire class that he got snowed in, so he can't make it to the campus!".

Chris immediately felt better at hearing this, and laughed out loud. He was so worried about making sure Ashley got to her class on time, and now they had 2 hours all to themselves.

"Wanna go to the bookstore? We're kinda close to it" Chris suggested as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the red light to change.

"Sure! We can pick up hot chocolate along the way!" Ashley said happily. Chris smiled at the excitement in her voice. The red light switched to green, and Chris made a U-turn away from their college and back towards their neighborhood. Ashley scrolled through her phone for a couple more minutes until she put it back in her pocket, having already read everything in her Twitter and Tumblr feed. She began tapping on her leg to the tune of the song playing from the radio, until it finished and commercials began to play from the radio instead. Ashley turned her head right and looked out of her window, reading the road signs and admiring the effects the snowstorm had on everything last night. She blew her breath against the car's window and absentmindedly drew a smiley face on it with her finger, thinking about the gang.

"Do you think Jess is any better?" Ashley randomly asked as she kept looking out of her window.

"No idea, I haven't talked to her since the ranger station" Chris responded, keeping his eyes on the road.

"When I was in the mines, I thought I heard Jess, but I was too scared to go after it. I got nervous about being alone in the mines and wanted to be back with you" Ashley admitted, leaning her head against the car window. Chris had to admit, he was also nervous when Ashley went by herself. The two of them never split up once the entire night, not to mention that was right after she kissed him.

"We were all scared that night, and I'm sure Jess doesn't blame you at all" Chris assured her, reaching over and squeezing her hand lightly as he slowed down at another red light. Ashley looked over at him and gave him a warm smile, squeezing his hand as well.

After a few more minutes of driving, Ashley spotted the red bricked building that was the café in their neighborhood. Besides a Starbucks in the mall, it was the only other place to get good coffee, so most of the gang went there when they wanted to meet up, if they weren't going to meet up at one of their houses. There were plenty of parking spaces in front of the café, what with everyone being at work and school by now. Chris pulled into a spot in front of the café, and they both got out of his car. This time, however, it was Ashley who got to the door before Chris, so she held it open for him with a smile. Chris smiled back, at they both entered it the café, holding hands.

They both loved visiting the café. The walls were painted a vibrant shade of yellow, but a shade that emanated happiness, and not one of those shades that looked ugly. Some music was playing from the radio on the glass display counter while the overhead fans lay still. Most people had already started their day, so the café was vacant. Except for one person, that is.

"Hey you two love birds!" someone called out, and when Chris and Ashley both turned their head in the direction of the voice, they spotted Sam sitting at the table the gang usually sat at, a smile on her face. They both blushed and walked over to Sam's table. Her class must have gotten cancelled too. Once Chris and Ashley reached the table, Sam got up from her chair and walked up them, giving the both of them a hug.

"So, how are you guys?" Sam asked as she returned to her seat. Chris and Ashley pulled out chairs and sat down themselves. They looked at each and smiled, replying "Never been better" in unison.

"Wow. This is not the Chris and Ashley that was sitting in this café a week ago" Sam teasingly commented, making them blush again. They both knew their friends were going to tease them about finally getting together.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick, can you order up our drinks?" Ashley asked as she got up from her seat. "Sure thing" Chris responded, rising up from his own seat as Ashley headed into the bathroom. Chris was about to ask Sam if she wanted anything, but she raised her cup and said "It's fine, I already ordered my tea".

Chris nodded and walked up to the counter where he ordered drinks for him and Ashley. He engaged in small talk with the cashier while their hot chocolate was being made. It turns out the cashier also went to the same college the rest of them did, so it made it much easier for Chris to find common things to talk about. Once their drinks were made, Chris thanked him and paid for the drinks, carrying them back to their table. Chris walked back to the table where he saw Ashley had come back from the bathroom, and was now talking with Sam.

Chris walked up to the table and passed Ashley her hot chocolate, which she accepted with a smile. He took a sip of his own hot chocolate as he pulled his chair out, sitting back down at the table. Ashley was about to continue her conversation with Sam when Chris looked over at her and sampled a bit of whipped cream off the top of her hot chocolate with his finger, placing it on her nose.

Ashley looked back at him with a smile and said "Hey!" taking some whipped cream off as well and placing it on Chris' nose. They both smiled and laughed, completely forgetting that Sam was sitting across from them. Chris reached over to Ashley and kissed her nose, licking away the whipped cream in the process. The smile on Ashley's face grew even larger as she returned the favor, kissing away the whipped cream she placed on Chris' nose. She leaned her forehead against Chris', the both of them having goofy smiles on their faces.

Sam took another sip of her tea as she watched the happy couple in front of them. A few days ago, they would've been beyond nervous if their hands even brushed. And here they were now, smiling and leaning against each other. Sam was glad they finally got together. They were meant to be together.

"You two are so sweet together" Sam commented as she put her tea on the table, a smile on her face as well. Both Chris' and Ashley's face turned beet red, and they looked like deer caught in headlights. They had completely forgotten that Sam was sitting in front of them. They gently separated from each other, Chris awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck while Ashley took a sudden interest in the label on her cup of hot chocolate. Though, they still both had large smiles on their faces.

"I'm glad you two finally got together" Sam said, voicing her thoughts. Ashley drank some hot chocolate and put it back down on the table. "So am I" she replied, smiling at Chris. Sam let out a small chuckle and asked "So, how have you two been after the whole incident on the mountain?".

Chris looked over at Ashley and saw that her smile shrinked, her head facing downwards at her cup while she played with the label on it. He could tell she was thinking about the nightmare she had last night with the gun trial. Chris took her left hand and encouragingly squeezed it, smiling at her. Ashley turned her head and faced Chris, the smile on her face returning.

"We've been great" she replied, looking into Chris' eyes and smiling back at him. Sam could only smile back at the two. She was happy for them. The three of them sat in the café for around half an hour, talking about the gang and what they were up to. Jess still had numerous scars, cuts and bruises, meaning she wouldn't be going back to school for at least a week, but most likely longer than that. And of course that meant Mike was probably going to skip classes the entire week too. Luckily nothing was wrong with Jess physiologically, she just needed some time to cope with what happened. Emily had cut off contact with the entire gang except for Matt, but he said that she was just pissed about Mike almost shooting her. He assured Sam that Emily would be alright once she had time to stew. And then there was finally Sam herself. She had been the all around person, getting in touch with everyone in the group and checking up on them.

"Chris, we better get going if we wanna go to the bookstore" Ashley said nodding her head in the direction of the clock behind Sam. It was a little after 9, and since Chris had a class at 10, and Ashley had one at 10:30, they had to start leaving if they wanted to visit the bookstore.

"It was great seeing you Sam!" Chris said to her as he collected all three of their empty cups and carried them to the garbage nearby. "I'm glad you guys are doing alright" Sam replied as both she and Ashley got up from their chairs. Sam reached over and gave Ashley a quick hug, followed by giving one to Chris when he had returned. Sam collected her black jacket off her chair as Ashley adjusted her beanie and scarf. Once they were all set, the three of them left the café and Sam broke off from Chris and Ashley to go home. Chris offered her a ride, but Sam assured him that she was fine with walking home.

Chris and Ashley waved goodbye to Sam and climbed back into his car, Chris turning on the heat as soon as the car turned on. Ashley turned the radio back on and Chris began to drive in the direction of the bookstore. With great music playing from the radio, his stomach full of hot chocolate, and Ashley smiling and tapping her foot to the tune of the music, Chris couldn't help but smile himself. This day was off to a great start.

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 **As always, I'm having a great time writing these chapters up, so I hope you like reading them! Cya on Thursday with the next chapter!**


	11. The Bookstore

**Happy Thursday everyone! This chapter is shorter compared to the previous chapters, so sorry about that! But I think it has enough Chrashley romance in it to make it a good chapter :P. Hope you all enjoy!**

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"This is probably my second most favorite place ever" Ashley said with a smile as she walked through the door of the bookstore. Chris was following behind her and he let out a small laugh. Ashley loved going to the bookstore. They had just arrived, and since it was already 9 in the morning, Chris was able to find a spot directly in front of the shop.

"What's the first?" Chris asked as he followed Ashley down the aisle labeled " _Fiction"_. "Anywhere you are" she responded with a smile, looking back at him. Chris smiled back as they walked to the end of the aisle to the two bean bag chairs located against the wall. Chris spent more time with Ashley in those exact bean bag chairs than he probably had spent time in school. They both sat down in the comfy chairs, stretching their legs out on the floor. They were the only two in the entire shop, so they definitely had enough leg room.

The bookstore was always one of Chris and Ashley's favorite places to hang out after classes. It was a quaint shop located between both of their houses, making it an easy spot for them to meet. The back wall of every aisle had two bean bag chairs and no windows, meaning you could rest comfortably by yourself, or with someone else. The smell of new books was prominent anywhere you went in the shop. There was also an air of still, peaceful quietness in the shop, which only helped them feel more comfortable. The carpeted floor muffled a person's footsteps, adding to the soft quietness of the shop. It was one of those places besides their houses where Chris and Ashley could sit down and relax with each other, while simultaneously avoiding the hustle and bustle of people outside.

Ashley picked up the purple bean bag she was sitting in and placed it right next to the orange bean bag Chris was lounging in. She sat back down in her chair and took off her pink beanie and scarf and placed them in her lap, the heating in the shop warming her up enough that she didn't need the extra clothes. Ashley leaned on Chris and rested her head on his chest, letting out a happy sigh. Chris put his arm around Ashley in response and kissed the top of her head, smelling her strawberry scented shampoo.

"You wanna know something pretty ironic?" Ashley asked. "Sure" Chris said as he absentmindedly read the titles of the books closest to them. Ashley reached into her pants' pocket and produced a few index cards, each one filled with Ashley's handwriting. She passed them to Chris who looked at them puzzled.

"I was going to admit my feelings for you in the lodge this weekend" Ashley said as she lifted her head off Chris' chest to face him. "I spent all Friday night writing those up to try to figure out the best way to tell you" Ashley continued, giving Chris a sheepish smile.

Chris smiled back at her, and sure enough, she was right. He read the title on the first index card, and written in Ashley's handwriting was " _Ways to tell Chris I like him"_. Below that was a whole bunch of bullet points with tons of ideas. Ashley rested her head back on Chris' chest as he flipped through the cards, reading every bullet point. He had a smile on his face throughout his entire time reading them. The last index card definitely had some far fetched ideas.

Chris laughed when he read one of her ideas on the third card. "Where exactly were you going to get doves in the middle of a mountain?" Chris asked with a smile. Ashley turned her head and looked up at him with a smile.

"A girl can dream! And also I wrote the third card up at like 2 in the morning, so at that point I was looking for anything" she said as her cheeks turned pink. Chris bent his down and kissed the top of her head, and returned back to reading the last few ideas on the third card as Ashley . He read the last idea on the card and smiled as brightly as the sun. It simply read " _Just tell him"_.

"Well, you told me" Chris jokingly said as he handed Ashley back the index cards. Instead of putting the cards back in her pocket though, Ashley flipped to the first card. "Do you have a pen on you? I need to fix something on this card" she asked.

"Sure" Chris said with a puzzled look as he reached into his pocket and produced a black pen, handing it to Ashley. "Thanks" she said as she took the pen in her hands. Ashley then took the index cards and placed them on Chris' leg so she had a surface to write on. She wrote something down on the card and handed Chris both his pen back, and the index cards.

"Read the title, I fixed it" Ashley said with a shy smile. Chris put the black pen back in his pocket and read the top of the first card again. He instantly smiled and felt his heart glow when he read it. Ashley had crossed out the word _"like"_ in the title, and it now read " _Ways to tell Chris I love him"_.

He looked to see Ashley looking up at him, a shy smile on her face and her cheeks still pink. Chris gave the index cards back to Ashley, who placed them in her pocket. He then wrapped her up in a big hug, which she graciously accepted. Ashley nestled her head in a better position on Chris' chest, his warm embrace making her feel safe and warm. They stayed like that for some time, neither of them willing to break their comfortable embrace.

Ashley's eyes began to droop, and before Chris knew it, she was fast asleep in his arms. She was most likely still a little tired from waking up in the middle of the night from her nightmare. Chris craned his neck to look for the clock, and when he did, he saw it was close to 9:15. He smiled to himself. He decided to let Ashley sleep for a little bit. Chris would even skip his class if it meant Ashley could sleep and be happy.

Chris surveyed the dark mahogany bookcases near him to find a book to read. While he loved Ashley with all his heart, watching her sleep wasn't the most exciting thing to do. Chris hadn't yet read the latest Percy Jackson book, and ironically enough, the entire series could be found on the lower shelf. He gingerly removed his left arm from Ashley and reached over to the collection of books, taking out the last one. Chris then propped the Percy Jackson book against the lower shelf and began reading it.

Chris had finished reading the first chapter and was halfway through the second, when he felt Ashley stir in his arms. Chris turned his attention back towards Ashley, who had just woken up. He saw her blink a few times, and jokingly said "Hey sleepyhead". She lifted her head up from Chris' chest and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few more times.

"Did I fall asleep?" Ashley asked groggily, stretching her arms. Chris closed the Percy Jackson book and placed it back on the shelf.

"Yeah" he responded with a small smile. "Sorry" she said, a small smile on her own face. Chris laughed and reached over, giving her a quick peck.

"We better get going" Chris said as he pointed to the clock. Ashley let out a groan when she saw it was already 9:38.

"I don't want to go to classes though. I just want to stay here with you the entire day" she said, looking at Chris with puppy eyes. "Can't we skip classes again?" she pleaded.

Chris smiled at her. The girl who loved school more than anyone else wanted to skip it so she could spend time with him. He loved her so much.

"That sounds really nice, and I'd love nothing more than to spend time with you, but you know we have to go to classes" Chris said, rubbing her back gently. "Besides, it'll be good to get back into the old routine of things after the lodge incident. And we both only have one class today".

Chris could see Ashley thinking over it a few seconds, and she finally let out a sigh.

"Why are you always right?" she asked with a small smile.

"I'm not" he replied. "But am I right when I say you're the best girlfriend ever" Chris added. Ashley blushed and her smile grew larger. "And you're the best boyfriend ever" she said, reaching over to kiss Chris on the cheek. It was now his turn to blush and the two of them smiled at each other for a few seconds. They were both cheesy as hell, but they were in love with each other.

"You can come over to my house when our classes are done" Ashley suggested as she reached for her beanie and scarf. "That sounds great" Chris cheerfully responded.

"We better get going before we get too comfortable again" he said, Ashley nodding in agreement after she let out another sigh. She put on her beanie and scarf, and the two of them got up from their bean bag chairs, leaving the shop hand in hand.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! As always, I love writing up them up! I'll see ya all on Tuesday!**


	12. Back to Classes

**Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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Chris had a hard time following his own advice. He had just driven both him and Ashley to school, and they somehow arrived early despite spending extra time with each other in the bookstore. Because of that, Chris was able to walk Ashley to her class, giving her a quick kiss goodbye before he headed off to his own class. 35 minutes later, Chris was now sitting in his English class, listening to his professor rant about how he didn't need technology growing up.

Chris sighed and leaned his head on his hand. He just wanted to be with Ashley right now. He had already zoned out his professor's ranting and began daydreaming about Ashley instead. Chris smiled to himself. When he was last in this seat on Friday, he was also daydreaming about Ashley. But instead, he was thinking of ways to admit his feelings for her. And now they were together, and loved each other more than anything.

Chris glanced up at the clock, hoping that the class was almost over, but there was still 20 minutes left. Mike was in Chris' English class too, but with Jess staying home for the entire week, he assumed Mike was too since Chris didn't see him. He mumbled under his breath and went back to thinking about Ashley.

Chris was so happy to finally be with her. Ashley was smart, kind, beautiful, and the most amazing girl Chris had ever met. On Friday, Chris would have been sweating at the idea of confessing his feelings for Ashley. But now, he would tell Ashley he loved her every day. She meant everything to Chris.

He lost track of time while thinking about Ashley, and before Chris knew it, the class was over and everyone was getting out of their seats. Chris quickly got out of his seat and slung his backpack over his shoulder, making sure to hand in the report he did with Ashley to his crazy professor, and left the classroom.

Chris walked outside into the busy hallway, happy that his class was finally over. He was about to take this phone out to text Ashley, when a pair of hands took off his glasses and covered his eyes from behind.

"Guess who?" Ashley happily asked, her hands gently covering up Chris' eyes as she stood on her toes to reach them. He instantly smiled and gently took Ashley's hands off his eyes and held them instead. Chris turned around and saw Ashley smiling at him, looking at him with her pretty green eyes. Ashley handed Chris back his glasses and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her head into his chest. Chris returned the gesture, wrapping Ashley up in his arms, and the two of them stood in the busy hallway, hugging each other.

"I missed you" Ashley mumbled into his jacket, holding onto him tightly. "I missed you too" Chris replied honestly, bending his head down slightly to kiss the top of her beanie. They had only been apart from each other for about an hour, but to them, it felt like an eternity.

"I thought you would've still been in your class" Chris said as he gently loosened his grip on Ashley. "My professor cut class short because of the bad weather" Ashley responded, unwrapping her arms around Chris. "I got out around 10 minutes ago, so I figured I'd wait for you here" she added with a smile.

Chris smiled back at her as he put his glasses back on, his surroundings become much clearer. Ashley reached for Chris' hand and laced her fingers with his, and they both walked in the direction of the exit.

"I didn't see Sam in my calculus class, so I think she skipped classes today" Ashley commented as they walked through the noisy halls. "She probably doesn't feel like going back to classes yet. Maybe that's why she was at the café this morning" Chris replied, re-adjusting his glasses with his free hand. "Probably" Ashley said as they walked out of the front doors of the main building.

They were immediately greeted by a gust of wind, prompting Ashley to push her scarf up a bit higher to keep her warm. Together they walked through the somewhat vacant parking lot, the snow covered campus adding to the picturesque landscape. Ashley spotted Chris' car, which they happily got into once Chris had unlocked his car.

"Wanna go pick up lunch before we go to my house?" Ashley asked as she placed both her and Chris' backpacks in the backseat. "Sure, where do you wanna go?" Chris responded as he reached for the knob that controlled the heat, turning it up.

"I was thinking of that new sandwich place that opened up a couple weeks ago. It's only a few blocks away from us" Ashley said as she took off her scarf, the car's heat warming her up. "Sounds good to me" Chris said as he drove out of the parking lot. Much like before, Ashley turned on the radio, and Chris drove them to the sandwich shop, the both of them happy that they were done with classes for the day and could spend time with each other.

After 10 minutes of driving and listening to music, they finally arrived at the sandwich shop. Since it was 11:48 though, everyone else was picking up lunch too, making most parking spots near the shop taken already. Luckily enough, Chris was able to find a parking spot a block away, so they didn't have to walk that far. Once they had gotten out of his car, Chris laced his fingers with hers, wanting to keep her warm while they walked. She smiled in response and reached up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. They both had smiles on their faces as they walked in the direction of the sandwich shop, happy to be with each other.

After walking for a few minutes, Chris and Ashley finally came up upon the sandwich shop, and were both pleasantly surprised to find the shop fairly empty. Most people must have been hunkering down due to the cold weather. The shop itself was almost small and cozy, and reminded Chris of the cafe. The floor was wooden and stained brown, with the walls painted a dark shade of red. There were a couple of wooden circular tables with accompanying chairs where you could sit down and eat, but him and Ashley were bringing their lunch home. A television was blaring in the corner, where a reporter was discussing the snowstorm that happened last night and it's impact on traffic. A handful of people were sitting down at the tables, as well as a couple of people waiting to order food at the register, but there was one person that stuck out to Chris and Ashley the most.

"Mike?" Chris called out as he and Ashley walked up to the order line, and sure enough, Mike turned around on the line and saw the two of them.

"Oh, hey guys" he said, trying to speak louder than the television mounted in the corner. "Hey" they said in unison, turning to face each other and smile.

"So, how have you been?" Chris asked as both he and Ashley turned back to Mike. "I've been better, but worse I guess. That bear trap really did a number on my fingers, so they're gonna need some time to heal" Mike responded, holding up his bandaged fingers. "Guess you found out I skipped classes today" he added with a small laugh.

"Yeah" Chris answered back with a small smile. "Jess I assume?" he said, prompting Mike to nod. "How is she?" Ashley asked as the three of them moved up in the order line.

"She's coping" Mike said in a quiet voice, not wanting others to overhear their conversation. "I don't even know what kind of shit she went through with that monster, but she's trying her best to forget it and move on". A solemn expression came upon all their faces as Ashley moved closer to Chris, wanting to feel safe with him. Chris could tell she was thinking about what would've happened if something bad happened to him. He encouragingly wrapped his arm around her waist, looking into her pretty green eyes reassuringly as he gave her a smile. Ashley smiled back at Chris, a feeling of safety and comfort washing over her.

"It's good that she's better" Ashley said, breaking her gaze with Chris, but still standing close to him. "Yeah" Mike responded as he brushed off some dust on his jacket.

"Hey uh, if you guys are busy that's fine, but if you could, can you guys visit Jess sometime?" Mike asked as they shuffled closer to the order counter. "I think talking to her friends will help her out".

"Of course we can!" Ashley said. "Maybe we can visit tomorrow?" she asked Chris as she turned to look at him. "Sounds good to me, we can go after classes" he responded, letting go of Ashley's waist and instead holding her hand.

"Thanks guys, I'm sure Jess will be happy when I tell her you're coming over tomorrow" Mike said with a small smile. "But enough about me and Jess, how have you guys been?". Ashley looked up at Chris and gave him a warm smile, happily looking into his eyes. "We've been great" she replied, squeezing his hand lightly. Chris smiled back at her, and the two of them stood in the shop looking at each other with goofy smiles.

"Ok, well this is a little awkward to watch, but I'm glad you two finally got together" Mike said, making Chris and Ashley to blush. After a few more minutes of talking, the person in front of Mike had finished ordering his food, leaving him as the next person. As Mike ordered food for him and Jess, Chris felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took out his phone with his free hand and saw that Sam was texting him.

S: _Hey, you still good for practicing at 4?_

Chris was so excited to spend time with Ashley that he completely forgot about practicing with Sam at 4. Nonetheless, he wanted to start practicing as soon as possible. Chris sent back a text that simply read " _Yep"_ and put his phone back in his pocket as Mike received the sandwiches he ordered. Before he left, he thanked both Chris and Ashley in advance for seeing Jess tomorrow, saying goodbye as he left the shop. They both bid him goodbye as they approached the counter, eager to get lunch.

Chris ordered them 2 sandwiches; roast beef for him and swiss cheese and ham for Ashley. "I'm glad Jess is better" Ashley said, striking up conversation while they waited for their sandwiches to be made.

"Yeah, I'm sure Mike is too" Chris responded, looking over the counter to see the progress on their sandwiches. The entire gang seemed to be recovering after the lodge incident, except no one had mentioned one person yet. He turned back to Ashley and looked into her eyes. "Hey Ash" Chris said quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of anyone in the shop."What's wrong?" she asked, taking both of his hands in hers while she moved closer to him.

Chris was about to open his mouth to speak again when the cashier handed him their sandwiches. "We'll talk later" he said to Ashley, taking the bag from the cashier and bidding him a good day. They both exited the sandwich shop and walked to Chris' car, with Ashley trying to figure out what was bugging Chris. Once they had finally gotten to his car, they both climbed in, Ashley placing the bag in the back seat with their backpacks. Just as Chris was about to put his key into the ignition, Ashley reached over and took it out of his hands. He looked over and saw his key in Ashley's hand, a look of worry on her face.

"Tell me what's wrong Chris. I'm here for you" she said, looking into his eyes. Chris didn't want to think about it, but he knew that he could talk about it with Ashley. He turned around in the driver's seat and faced Ashley, letting out a sigh.

"It's been days since the lodge incident and the police haven't called any of us to say they found Josh. Do you think he could be..." Chris began, looking into Ashley's eyes for support. He didn't want to say the last word. She immediately put the key down on the dashboard and closed the gap between them, bringing Chris in for a hug. It was time for her to be strong for him. He gladly accepted her hug, wrapping his arms around Ashley. As the thought of Josh actually being dead hit him, Chris began to cry quietly into her shoulder. She felt her shoulder get damp with his tears, making her hug him as tight as she could, putting all of her love in it. Ashley also began gently rubbing his back to help calm him down. It worked for her this morning when Chris did it, so she hoped it worked for him too.

Chris had to admit that he felt safe in her arms. Ashley kept hugging Chris tightly and gently rubbing his back as he calmed down, and after a few minutes, his crying stopped. Ashley gingerly unwrapped her arms around him and gently broke their hug, looking into his eyes. Ashley took Chris' glasses off of his face and rolled up her jacket sleeve so it covered her hand. She then proceeded to dry his eyes and any tears that remained on his face with her sleeve, as well as wiping his glasses dry. Once Ashley carefully placed Chris' glasses back on the bridge of his nose, she held both of his hands and lovingly looked into his eyes.

"Better?" Ashley asked, squeezing his hands lightly. Chris nodded and gave her a small smile. "Thanks. I needed this and you're the only person I trust" he responded, squeezing Ashley's hands lightly.

"I love you" she said with a smile, reaching up and giving Chris a quick peck. "I love you too" he responded with a smile, and the two of them stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds.

"We better turn the heat on before we freeze" Chris said with a small laugh as he let go of Ashley's hands. "I don't know, I'm pretty warm with you right now" she said back with a smile as she turned back around in her car seat. Chris could only smile back as he put his key into the ignition, cranking the heat up. Ashley turned the radio on, but then reached over and placed her hand on top of his on the steering wheel. She gave Chris a warm, encouraging smile and squeezed his hand, making him smile back at her. Ashley cared about, and loved Chris with all her heart. She gently took her hand off of his and Chris began driving in the direction of Ashley's house, a smile on his face the entire time.

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 **Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! I'll see ya all on Thursday for the next one!**


	13. A Lazy Afternoon

**Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you're all having a good day/night, and if not, I hope this brightens your day!**

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"Home, sweet home" Ashley said with a smile as she and Chris walked into her room. They had just finished eating lunch downstairs, and with her stomach full, the heat in her room keeping her warm, and the person she loved the most with her, Ashley was ready to settle down for a lazy afternoon. Chris lazily walked over to her bed and sat down on it while Ashley took out a pair of socks from her dresser to replace her current socks, which were wet with snow. The new pair of socks were mismatched, but fluffy and warm, making her feel even more comfortable. The brace on Chris' ankle was starting to annoy him, and since he was just as ready as Ashley to relax, he took it off as she plopped herself down in her beanbag chair.

As Chris got up and placed his ankle brace on the table across from him, Ashley curled in the squishy beanbag chair, about to take a book out of the large wooden bookcase that was adjacent to her. She expected Chris to lie down on her bed, but he walked over to her instead. He sat down next to her on the floor, trying to find a good spot to lean his head against the wall. Instead, Ashley stretched out her legs and patted them and Chris gave her a smile as he rested his head on her lap. He shuffled his head around a bit until he was comfortable, making Ashley smile. Everything was perfect.

"I was so scared that something would've happened to you when you went to find Josh" Ashley said as she played with Chris' hair, breaking the silence in the room. Even though Chris was in a somewhat sleepy state, he understood her. He was just as scared when he pointed that gun at himself, afraid that he was going to leave Ashley alone right after confessing his feelings for her.

"When the others went into the basement, I couldn't" Ashley continued. "I couldn't go somewhere safe knowing that you were probably in danger. Mike tried to urge me to go downstairs, but I wanted to make sure you got back safe". Chris smiled and felt his heart flutter slightly when she said that. She willingly put herself in danger to make sure he was alright. "When I heard that thing screaming, I got so scared that something actually happened to you. But when I saw you running towards the lodge, I had to help you, no matter what" Ashley admitted.

"I love you so much" she concluded, letting go of the bit of his hair she was playing with and wrapped her arms around Chris, giving him a quick hug. "I love you too" he responded genuinely, rolling his head over to rest easier in her lap. With a full stomach, being in a warm house, and resting comfortably in Ashley's arms, Chris felt his eyelids get heavy, and slowly drifted to sleep, content in her lap. Ashley smiled when she looked down to see Chris sleeping, a peaceful look on his face as she bent down to lightly kiss his cheek.

To make sure Chris wouldn't accidentally break his glasses while he was sleeping, Ashley carefully took them off and placed them on the table next to her. So as to not wake him up, she slowly stretched her right leg out and kicked one of her blankets off of her bed, bringing over to her. She draped the light blue blanket from her bed around Chris, making sure he was warm and snug. Ashley let out a content sigh, and upon making sure Chris was alright, she took out the Percy Jackson book she was reading from the bookcase, flipped to the page bookmarked, and began reading it.

Ashley was almost three quarters of the way through the book when Chris finally woke up. He stirred around in her lap, and when he blinked, everything around him was blurry.

"Ash?" Chris said, worried that something had happened. "Hey sleepyhead" she reassuringly responded, looking down at him with a smile. Chris looked up, and even though everything around him was blurry, he could make out Ashley's beautiful face. He smiled back at her and lifted his head up from her lap, blinking away his grogginess. Chris proceeded to yawn and stretch his arms, the blue blanket around his shoulders falling slightly. He smiled to himself. Ashley must have put it around him when he was sleeping to keep him warm.

As Chris finished stretching, Ashley reached over and took his glasses off her table, gingerly placing them back on him. "Better?" she asked with a smile, putting her Percy Jackson book back on its shelf.

"Yep, but I can still see how beautiful you are without my glasses" Chris responded, a smile on his face as well. Ashley blushed and reached over, kissing his cheek. He looked over at the clock and saw that it was already 1:48. "Wow, how long was I asleep?" Chris asked, taking Ashley's blanket off of his shoulders and folding it for her.

"Almost 2 hours. You must've been tired" Ashley said with a smile as she stretched her legs. "I felt comfortable and warm with the girl I love" Chris admitted as he stood up and carried the blue blanket to Ashley's bed, making her already pink cheeks turn a deeper shade. "Sorry about sleeping for so long though, it must have been uncomfortable sitting there for 2 hours" he said, sitting down on her bed. Ashley got up from the bean bag chair and walked over to Chris, sitting down next to him on her bed. She reached over and took his hand, lacing their fingers. "Every second I get to spend with you makes me the happiest girl in the world" Ashley said, giving him a warm smile.

Ashley scooted over in her bed and laid back in it, resting her head on her pillow. "I, uh, do you want me to sit somewhere else? Seeing how it's your bed, I don't want to, you know, make you feel uncomfortable or anything" Chris nervously said, his face turning red. He didn't want to lie down with her and make her feel uncomfortable or make things awkward.

Ashley smiled at Chris' nervousness. He was such a gentleman. "I promise you're not going to make me uncomfortable" she said, patting the space next to her. Chris gave her a small smile in response and scooted over to lie down next to her. Since there was only one pillow on her bed, Ashley scooted over to leave Chris some pillow space to rest on. He comfortably settled his head down on her pillow, their heads to face each other. Ashley reached over and grabbed Chris' hand, lacing her fingers with his. The two of them turned their heads to face each other, bright smiles on their faces.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Chris jokingly asked, looking into her green eyes. Ashley blushed and picked her head off her pillow and rested on Chris' chest, prompting Chris to wrap her up in his arms. She felt so safe and comfortable when she was with him.

"It came up a few times" Ashley jokingly responded, reaching up to play with one of the drawstrings on Chris' hoodie. The two of them rested comfortably in each other's arms, the occasional car passing by outside being the only noise they heard. As Ashley played with the hoodie's drawstring, Chris looked around her room, spotting her pair of red ice skates in the corner.

"Hey Ash" Chris began, a smile coming to his face as the idea came to him. "Mhmm" she hummed in response, still playing with the gray drawstring. "I think I wanna go ice skating with you next week" he continued, and looked down to see Ashley's face brighten.

"Really?" she cheerfully asked, ceasing her playing with his hoodie to look up at him. The smile on Chris' face grew larger when he heard the excitement in Ashley's voice. "Well, I'd have to order some skates online and you'd need to teach me, but yeah, I wanna go skating with you" he concluded.

"I've got your back as long as you have mine" Ashley responded with a smile, reaching up and giving him a quick peck. Chris smiled back. He remembered trying to be brave for her when he said that, even though he was just as scared as she was.

"You were right by the way, about the gang still being friends" Ashley said as she rested her head back on Chris' chest. "Yeah, I'm glad we're all still friends" he responded, and the two of them rested on Ashley's bed in blissful silence, enjoying the comfort that came with being in each other's arms. Chris craned his neck to his right to see the clock on Ashley's desk read 1:53. He made a mental note to himself that he had to leave around 3:30 so he could start practicing with Sam for Ashley's surprise on Valentine's Day. Although if Ashley wanted him to stay, he definitely would cancel his plans to practice with Sam. Chris didn't want to be mean to Sam, but Ashley meant everything to him.

The two of them rested in each other's arms for a few more minutes, safe and comfortable with each other. "Wanna watch Netflix or a movie or something?" Ashley asked, turning her head upwards to look at Chris. He smiled down at her and replied "Sure", unwrapping his arms around her. Ashley climbed over him and got off her bed, walking over to her desk to retrieve her laptop. As she carried her laptop back to her bed, Chris sat up in it cross legged and rested against the wall it was next to. Ashley climbed back into the bed with him, sitting cross legged as well and placed her laptop off to the side. A confused look came upon Chris' face, but it immediately turned to a smile when she took a blanket off her bed and draped it over the both of them. Chris readjusted the blanket, making sure that Ashley was warm. She smiled at Chris and reached up to kiss his cheek, making him smile as well.

Ashley reached over for her laptop and placed it between the two of them, opening up the lid. She opened up a new tab and logged into her Netflix account, where they were greeted by her homepage. Chris smiled when he read the area titled " _Recently viewed"_ which comprised of Finding Nemo, Parks and Recreation, Ratatouille, and The Office among various other shows and movies. Most of those movies they watched together when waiting for their friends, or in between classes when they had time, or whenever they were together and felt like watching something.

"Wanna watch Parks and Rec? We're only on season 3 I think" Ashley asked as she turned to face Chris. "Sounds good to me" he replied, although he didn't mind at all what they watched. Just being with Ashley made him happy. She turned back to her laptop's screen and moused over to the Parks and Recreation icon, clicking on it to bring up the next episode. After a few seconds of loading, the screen came to life with the episode and Ashley made it fullscreen for them. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands and placed them in her lap, adding to the comfort factor of the already cozy bed. Ashley then leaned over and rested her head on Chris' shoulder, prompting him to look over at her and smile. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. Ashley smiled as well, and the two of them happily watched the show, content in each other's arms.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll see ya all on Tuesday!**


	14. Spending Quality Time

**Happy Tuesday folks! I've not much to say, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Chris let out a sigh when he read the time in the bottom right corner of Ashley's laptop. It was already 3:48, and he should have already left by now, but with Ashley resting her head on his shoulder and the two of them warm and snug on her bed watching Netflix, Chris didn't want to move. The thought of leaving Ashley's warm embrace and going back into the frigid cold only made him want to stay even more. Chris' thoughts were interrupted by the music that came along with the end credits of the episode they were just watching.

"Hey Ash" he began, clicking the cancel button on the screen to stop it from auto playing the next episode. "Mh hmm" she hummed in response, tilting her head on his shoulder so she could look up at him.

"I really should start going" Chris said, waving his hand in the direction of the clock on her desk. Ashley quickly glanced at the clock, and then back to Chris once she had read the time. "Can you stay a little longer?" Ashley pleaded, looking up at him with the same puppy eyes she gave him in the bookstore. Chris instantly smiled and reached down to kiss the top of her head.

"You know I can't say no when you give me that look" he replied, making Ashley smile. "I'll stay a little longer" Chris said as he took his phone out and sent Sam a quick text that said he would be a little late. As he was on his phone, Ashley reached over and closed the lid on her laptop, to Chris' surprise. She gently moved the blanket off her legs and got up, carrying her laptop back to her desk. Chris finished texting Sam and pocketed his phone, looking up to see Ashley climbing back onto the bed with him. Although it might have been silly, he missed the warmth of being in her arms, even though she was only gone for a few seconds.

"Tired of watching Netflix?" Chris asked with a smile as Ashley leaned back to lie down in her bed. He followed suit and laid down next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Ashley wrapped her own arm around Chris and nuzzled her head onto his chest, snuggling up next to him. "I'll take that as a yes" he replied, the smile on his face growing even larger. Chris kissed the top of her head and reached for her blankets, draping them over the both of them, making sure Ashley was nice and snug. He saw her smile and slowly close her eyes, making him let out a small laugh.

"Are you already falling asleep?" Chris asked with a smile, watching her fall asleep. "Mh hmm" she happily hummed into his chest, content with being in Chris' arms. Chris felt her gently breathing against his chest, and looked down to see her peacefully sleeping. He smiled to himself and leaned his head against her pillow, letting out a happy sigh. Even though he already took a nap, being in a warm bed with Ashley in his arms sleeping peacefully made him want to sleep too. Chris let out a yawn and turned his head so he could face Ashley, making sure she was alright. As he heard the wind howl outside and whip against Ashley's house, Chris was grateful that he decided to stay. He carefully took his right arm out from underneath the blanket they were sharing and took his glasses off, placing them on the nightstand next to Ashley's bed. He put his arm back underneath the blanket and got comfortable once more, letting sleep cast its spell over him. Chris let out one final yawn and fell asleep contently, happy to be in Ashley's arms.

When Chris woke up, all he was greeted by was blurriness. Sometime while he was sleeping, he must have rolled his head the opposite way, since he was now facing Ashley's desk. Chris rolled his head to the right and saw Ashley was awake, but still resting on his chest. When she saw that he was awake, Ashley looked up at him with a smile.

"Hey" she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "Hey" Chris responded, smiling back at her. "How long have you been awake?" he asked, reaching over to retrieve his glasses from the nightstand. "About 10 minutes. But you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you up" Ashley said the smile on her face growing. She sat up in her bed and began taking the blankets off of them and folding them back on the foot of her bed.

As Ashley neatly folded her blankets, Chris put his glasses back on and checked the clock, seeing that it was already 5:05. Sam was probably annoyed that he didn't show up, but Ashley really did mean everything to him. Chris stretched his arms before sitting up in the bed as well just as Ashley folded the last blanket.

"Thanks for staying" she said with a smile, turning to face Chris and lacing her fingers with his. He smiled back and squeezed her hand lightly, their love for each other evident in their eyes. "If I could, I would spend everyday with you like this" Chris responded honestly, a large grin on his face. He wrapped his arm around Ashley's waist, prompting her to wrap her own arms around him. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, until Chris reached for a stray piece of Ashley's auburn hair and tucked it behind her ear. They both began to blush as Chris cupped her face and tilted his head to move closer to Ashley, the two of them meeting in a kiss. He could taste the little bit of vanilla lip gloss she must have put on this morning as their lips came together. It was a gentle, sweet kiss, with the both of them pouring as much love as they could into it. In the warmth and safety of being with each other, nothing else mattered. In that moment, everything was perfect.

Eventually, Ashley broke their kiss, and leaned her forehead against Chris', big goofy smiles on both of their faces. Neither of them said anything for a couple of minutes, opting instead to look into each other's eyes. "I love you" she said in a soft voice, the quiet stillness of the air adding to the romantic atmosphere. "I love you too" Chris responded, holding onto her tighter. Ashley quickly glanced behind him at the clock on her desk, and upon seeing it was 5:09, she turned her attention back to Chris right as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"You have to go, don't you?" Ashley asked, gently separating from him. "Probably" he responded, ignoring the text message he just received. She fidgeted with her fingers for a second before stopping Chris as he was about to get off her bed. "Chris, I'm scared that I'm going to have another nightmare tonight" Ashley admitted, looking into his eyes for support. He immediately wrapped her up in a hug, making her feel safe.

"It's alright Ash. If you ever get scared, or nervous, just think about me. None of those bad things happened" Chris said reassuringly, holding onto her as tight as possible. Ashley felt a wave of relief wash over her as he comforted her. "And if that doesn't work, you can always text me. I don't care how late in the night" Chris added, gently pushing away from her to look down at her. Ashley looked up at him with a bright smile, prompting Chris to smile back. "Thanks" she simply said, giving him another quick hug before gently separated.

"I'll text you later tonight" Ashley said as Chris reached for his ankle brace and put it back on. "Not unless I text you first" he jokingly responded, rolling down his right pants once the brace was back on. "Sounds good to me" she said with a smile, reaching over to quickly kiss him on the cheek. The two of them then left Ashley's room and walked downstairs, where Ashley helped Chris collect his belongings. They both talked about visiting Jess tomorrow and how they thought she was as Ashley helped Chris put on his blue parka and snow boots. Once he was all set, Chris stood up from the couch he was sitting on and the two of them were about to approach the front door when Ashley's mom came into the living room, thanking Chris for the thousandth time about protecting Ashley at the lodge. He could only smile and insist he did nothing special, saying he would never let Ashley get hurt, making her blush.

After thanking him one more time, her mom left the living room, allowing Chris to leave. "Please drive safely" Ashley said as the two of them met in a hug in front of the door. "I will" he promised, smiling at her concern for him and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head. She opened up the front door for him and Chris walked out into the cold winter air, heading out to his car. Once he arrived at his car, which was parked right in front of the house, Chris turned around to make sure Ashley was alright, and a large grin came across his face. She was up against the screen door on her toes, peering through it to make sure Chris was alright himself. Ashley instantly blushed, a smile coming on her face and waved goodbye to him, getting off her toes. Chris returned the gesture, and Ashley closed her front door as he unlocked his car. He put his key into the ignition, turned up the heat, and drove home with a smile on his face as he thought of Ashley.

Once Chris got home, he immediately hung up his winter clothes on the coat rack near the front door and went to his room upstairs. Seeing that it was only 5:20 and dinner wouldn't be ready for at least another hour, Chris decided to go on his computer and play some video games until then. He browsed through his library of video games, and clicked on a Total War game. As the computer's screen shone to life with a loading screen, Chris took out his phone and decided to finally read the text he had received earlier.

Chris smiled as he saw that Sam had texted him four times while he and Ashley were sleeping, with the fifth text being when he was about to leave. He scrolled through the text messages, feeling a little guilty that he bailed on Sam at the last minute. Chris promised himself that'd he call Sam later tonight and, somewhat awkwardly, explain why he missed practice with her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw that his game was still loading up, and placed his phone next to him on the desk. He usually would've put his phone in the charge by now, since he spent most of the day with Ashley, his battery was at 62%, so there was no need to charge it. Chris sighed at the unusually long loading time of the game, and opted to take off his ankle brace while he waited. Luckily, his ankle seemed to be getting better, especially since he had really only been spending time with Ashley at each other's houses for the past few days. Chris rolled up the soft, elastic brace and swung around in his chair as he tossed it across the room onto his nightstand, landing it perfectly next to his lamp.

"He shoots, he scores" Chris cheesily said to himself, throwing his fist up into the air. He thought to himself that if Ashley were there, she probably would've sighed and rolled her eyes, but laughed anyway. Chris chuckled to himself as he thought that, and turned his attention back to his game, which had finally finished loading. He leaned back in his desk chair and began playing, ready for a relaxing night of playing video games and texting Ashley.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! Although it goes without saying, I really appreciate the support you guys give me, whether it be through a review or just simply reading each chapter. I started this Chrashley story as something people could read and as a hobby, and it still is, but I'm honored that there's people willing to take time out of their day to read my story, so I really appreciate it. Anyway, I'll cya all on Thursday for the next chapter!**


	15. Visiting Jess

**Happy Thursday everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter is short, I've been really pressed for time recently and I usually have these chapters prepped and ready a few days in advance, but my current time restraints prevented me from doing that. I wrote this up pretty late at night and was only able to proof read it once over before I got too tired, so sorry if there are any grammatical errors or typos. This definitely isn't my best work, but I hope you guys enjoy it all the same!**

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"Do you think she'll like them?" Ashley said as she rummaged through the light brown Yankee Candle bag in her lap.

"I'm pretty sure she said something about wanting to visit Yankee Candle like a week ago, so I think so" Chris responded as he made a right turn onto Jess' street. "Besides, I'm sure she'll be happy just to see us".

Chris and Ashley had just finished classes about an hour ago, and since they promised Mike that they'd see Jess today, they figured they might as well bring a gift. Neither Chris nor Ashley was that close to her, so they didn't exactly know what to get. But Chris seemed to recall Jess liking Yankee Candle, so they bought two lemon scented candles for her, as well as a pumpkin scented one for Ashley. Usually, she didn't care about candles, but when she smelled it in the store, it reminded her of when Chris and her would sit in the park in October. Even if she never used it, just looking at it would remind Ashley of good memories with Chris.

"Here we are" he announced, pulling his car up in front of the white house that was Jess'. The front yard of her house wasn't much to be looked at. It was a small, rectangular patch of grass with a sidewalk paved in the middle that lead to the front door. The yard itself was devoid of any actual flowers, and was always populated by dandelions and weeds during the spring and summer. But where the front yard lacked, the backyard definitely made up. Jess' backyard was much larger than the front, with a large swimming pool situated in the center of it. The gang had been there a couple of times last summer when Jess had hosted a pool party for them, and even though he and Ashley sat in the gazebo in the corner of the yard most of the time, Chris remembered having fun.

Ashley took out her pumpkin scented candle and the receipt out from the bag and into the backseat, making sure that the glass jars that held the candles for Jess weren't damaged. Ashley turned the jars around in the bag, and once she was sure they weren't broken, she closed up the shopping bag and let out a sigh, looking out at the snowy landscape.

"You're nervous about seeing Jess" Chris said, voicing her thoughts. Ashley turned around in her seat to face him and gave him a small smile. "Yeah" she responded, absentmindedly playing with the bag's handle as she looked down at the candles again. He reached over and encouragingly squeezed her hand as he gave her a warm smile.

"Ash, I promise Jess doesn't blame you for anything. That probably wasn't even her in the mines" Chris reassured her, rubbing circles into the palm of her hand. Even though he was probably right, Ashley still felt a little guilty about possibly leaving Jess in the when she looked away from the candles, Ashley couldn't help but smile herself when she saw Chris' smiling face. He always knew how to calm her down.

Ashley nodded her head and grasped the handle of the gift bag. "Alright, I'm ready" she responded cheerily, straightening her pink striped beanie. Chris smiled in response and the two of them got out of his car, walking up to Jess' front door hand in hand. They made a right and walked on the branch off path and approached the white metal door that was Jess' front door. At first, Chris and Ashley tried to look around for a doorbell to ring, but the only thing they could find apart from the door itself was the black metallic mailbox mounted on the side of the house.

After searching for a doorbell for close to a minute now, the two of them gave up their search and Chris opened up the screen door for Ashley. As he held the door behind her, she knocked on the door three times, her feet nervously shuffling on top of the welcome mat. At first, they couldn't hear anything, and Ashley began to think that Jess wasn't home. But just then, they could hear what sounded like someone rushing down a set of stairs followed by a "I've got it". As the sound of the footsteps got closer, Ashley heard a bark coming from the other side of the door, making her smile. She turned around to look at Chris to see a smile on his face as well as he leaned against the screen door.

Ashley heard the front door open and when she turned her attention back forward, she was met by Mike wearing his usual flannel and black vest, as well as a German shepherd dog sitting down to his left.

"Hey!" Mike exclaimed, moving aside to let Chris and Ashley in. The German shepherd each gave them a happy bark as they walked inside, prompting the two of them to smile. "Thanks a lot for coming guys, Jess has been really excited all day to see you two" Mike said as Chris and Ashley passed him their coats. They quickly took off their boots and placed them on the mat adjacent to the door as Mike hung up their coats.

"Sorry if Bolt gets a little annoying, Jess picked him out a couple of months ago because he always wants to play" Mike added, and almost as if on cue, the German shepherd got up from where it was sitting and walked up to Chris, nudging his hand. Chris smiled and knelt down, scratching behind the dog's ears as he happily began to pant. Ashley smiled herself as she saw Chris, and reached down to pet the dog's head.

"He seems happy" Ashley commented as both she and Chris stopped petting the German shepherd. "Jess and I give Bolt plenty of loving, so he better be" Mike jokingly responded, walking past Chris and Ashley. "Come on, Jess is in the living room" he added, motioning for them to follow him. Bolt got up from his spot on the floor and followed Mike, with Chris and Ashley following close behind.

"So, yeah. Jess has been really excited to see you guys" Mike commented as their feet shuffled on the hardwood floor. "I don't think she's been this excited since before Saturday". The two of them could tell Mike didn't want to bring up the lodge, and neither Chris nor Ashley planned on bringing it up either.

"Hey, Jess! Chris and Ashley are here" Mike announced as the four of them turned right and walked into Jess' living room. The room itself was average sized, with a pair of armchairs against the wall nearest to them. In the corner was a large TV that was mounted on the wall that was currently tuned into what looked to be a soap opera. Across from the TV, Jess was sitting on a couch, intently watching the show. When Chris and Ashley first saw Jess, however, they were surprised to see that she wasn't wearing much makeup at all. They had always seen Jess with a lot of makeup up, and since she cherished her looks above most things, it was surprising to see her with little makeup on. Although, Jess looked more normal without the excess makeup.

She turned her head away from the TV and towards the doorway when her face brightened up when she saw the four of them. "Hey guys!" Jess happily said, slowly getting up from the couch. Chris and Ashley both smiled when she wrapped her arms around the two of them, enveloping them in a group hug. Ashley was the one who ended the hug, handing Jess the gift bag containing the two lemon scented candles.

"Aww, you guys shouldn't have" Jess said, looking into the gift bag. She turned around and placed the bag on the table adjacent to the couch and gave them each a quick hug to thank them.

"Thanks guys, guess I'll go hug Bolt" Mike jokingly said, taking a seat in one of the arm chairs. The three of them let out a small laugh and sat down on the couch, with Ashley slipping her hand into Chris'. "So, how are you guys?" Jess asked as she curled back into the spot she was sitting in before.

"We're really good" Ashley responded, looking up at Chris with a smile. "Mh hmm" he hummed in agreement, squeezing her hand lightly. "Awww, you two are so adorable together!" Jess cheerily exclaimed, completely forgetting about the soap opera. Chris and Ashley couldn't help but blush upon hearing Jess say that. It was good that even after everything Jess had been through, she could still be somewhat happy. The two of them turned their attention back to Jess and the four friends soon began to strike up conversation. They talked about a whole range of topics, including the huge snow storm that hit yesterday, Mike's complaining of having to watch Jess' soap operas and knowing way too much about the plot, and about how Jess planned on going back to classes next week. All throughout the conversation, however, Chris and Ashley both noticed that something was different about the way she was talking. It felt more genuine, like they were actual friends and she wasn't putting on a show.

The four friends settled down talked, joked and laughed for the rest of the afternoon, to the point where they all lost track of time. It wasn't until Bolt got up from his resting place in the corner to nudge Jess' lap that they bothered to look up at the time on the TV. It was already 4:57, and even though they were all having fun, Ashley had to leave soon for dinner. Both Chris and Ashley said their goodbyes to Jess, and as they were about to walk out into the hall and towards their coats and boots, Jess stopped them.

"Hey, I wanna thank you guys for avoiding the elephant in the room" she began, a serious tone in her voice. Both Chris and Ashley nodded their heads, a solemn expression coming across their own faces. The whole incident at the lodge was the only topic they wanted to avoid bringing up to Jess.

"I know that I wasn't the best person ever, and I never really talked to either of you, but I really wanna thank you guys for coming" Jess genuinely said, a small smile coming across her face. "Mike's been here for me ever since we came back home, but I haven't talked to anyone else in the gang. So, I just want you guys to know that you're my actual friends". The two of them couldn't help but smile along with Jess as she brought them in for a final group hug.

"We'll come visit you again soon" Ashley promised, looking up at Chris to make sure he was alright with that. He nodded in agreement and Jess said one final goodbye to them as they collected their belongings. Once they were all set, Chris and Ashley both said goodbye to Mike and Jess as he held the front door open for them. They heard Bolt bark back in response, followed by Mike and Jess bidding them goodbye too. Chris and Ashley smiled and made their way outside, walking hand in hand back to Chris' car.

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 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Once again, I'm sorry if the plot got a little stale towards the end, I was pretty tired when I wrote the ending up. But enough excuses, I'll cya all on Tuesday with the next chapter! And I'll defintetly make sure to not write that chapter up the night before :P.**


	16. Sleeping in

**Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you're all having a good week so far, and if not, perhaps this chapter can brighten it! Enjoy!**

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Chris groaned into his pillow at the sound of his phone buzzing to his right. He had no idea what time it was, but it was Thursday, meaning neither he nor Ashley had classes today. Usually, Chris would sleep late on Thursdays and play video games the rest of the day, but at the sound of his phone buzzing again, someone was adamant on making sure he didn't sleep late.

Chris let out a sigh into his pillow and turned over, blindly reaching for his phone on the nightstand adjacent to him. His hand brushed against the base of his lamp, his glasses, and an assortment of items before he could finally feel the plastic of his phone case. Chris lazily picked up his phone and brought it to his face, squinting to see who kept him from sleeping in. Even without his glasses, Chris couldn't see a blurry red heart, so it definitely wasn't Ashley. After a few more seconds of squinting, Chris gave up on trying to read the name, and reached for his glasses instead. After putting them on, he could finally read his phone's screen properly, and discovered it was Sam that kept texting him, no doubt in reference to the practice he missed yesterday. Chris had opted to text her last night rather than giving her a call, especially since he forgot to do so, and ended up texting her close to midnight.

Chris unlocked his phone and opened up his messages app, reading the two texts Sam had just sent him.

S: _Sorry this is late, I fell asleep early last night, but I don't blame you for missing out on practice. Just gimmie a heads up next time, ok?_

S: _Also, I've got classes at 1 today, so if you wanna stop by and begin practicing, we can before my class_

Chris glanced up at the top of his screen to read that the time was 7:51. He hadn't fully explained to Sam why he was late, only telling her that he got busy and couldn't make it, so it was really nice of her to be willing to practice again.

C: _Thanks a bunch, I'll come over at 10 if that's alright with you_

Chris tapped his thumbs against his phone's case as he waited for Sam's response, which came a couple minutes later.

S: _Sounds good to me_

At reading the message, Chris nodded to himself and placed his phone back on the wooden nightstand next to him. He would've sent Ashley a good morning text, but she was probably still sleeping, and didn't want to wake her up regardless. Chris yawned and briefly lifted his glasses up to rub the morning grogginess out of his eyes. As much as he hated to wake up this early on a Thursday, he definitely wasn't going to miss another practice with Sam, especially since Valentine's Day was a week away. After stretching his legs, Chris threw his blankets off of himself and to the other side of the bed, opting to make his bed later. He swung himself out of bed, his feet landing with a thud on the floor.

With one final stretch, Chris got up from his comfy bed and lazily walked to the bathroom where he performed his normal morning routine. One shower later, Chris brushed his teeth and applied a light amount of gel to his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror, and once he was certain he looked good, Chris cheesily made fingers guns and pointed them at himself in the mirror. He briskly walked out of the bathroom and into his room, reaching over on the nightstand to deposit his phone into his jeans' pocket. While he was still in there, Chris opted to fix the mess of blankets he made getting up this morning, as well as pulling back the blue curtains in his room and opening the blinds. With sunlight streaming into his room, his bed all made, and the shower he had just taken waking him up, Chris smiled to himself. He glanced at the clock on his desk and saw that it was already 8:15, and made a mental note to himself to text Ashley at 8:30.

Chris reached over and sat down in his desk's chair, opening up the lid to his laptop. He wanted to make sure sure he didn't leave anything out of his Valentine's Day surprise for Ashley when he was going to Sam later on. He pulled up the notepad document he saved earlier in the week and began reading the list, nodding at each number. Most of the list were common sense things Chris wanted to do for Ashley, so he would have no problem memorizing it. After going through the list once, Chris was confident that he knew everything he wanted to do to make his and Ashley's Valentine's Day date perfect. He shut the laptop lid and got up from the desk's chair, pushing it in before he left. With Ashley's surprise on his mind and a little pep in his step, Chris walked out of his room and downstairs.

When he had gotten downstairs, Chris' stomach rumbled, and he briskly made his way to the kitchen. He passed by his mother in the living room, where he briefly told her his plans of visiting Sam in an hour. She simply hummed in agreement and Chris continued forward to the kitchen. He quickly made himself a couple of waffles for breakfast and wolfed it down, not realizing how hungry he was until now.

Once he had finished eating his breakfast, Chris placed his dish in the sink and made his way back upstairs to his room. It was only 8:36, and since Sam's house was only a 10-15 minute drive from his own house, Chris had some time before he needed to leave. He made his way over to his desk and sat down in his chair, deciding to watch Netflix or a couple of videos before he needed to leave. Just as he sat down though, Chris felt his phone vibrate in his jeans' pocket and could see the screen shine to life through the denim fabric. He produced his phone out from his pocket and smiled when he saw that Ashley had texted him.

A: _Good morning!_

C: _Morning :)_

A: _So, it's gonna get really cold on Sunday! Enough that the lake should completely freeze over!_

C: _Sounds great! I'll order some ice skates later_

A: _Yeah, it would help to have ice skates for skating :P_

C: _You'd better be ready to catch me when I fall though :P_

The two of them continued to text each other for close to an hour, while Chris went shopping on Amazon for a pair of ice skates for Sunday. He didn't know anything about skate sizes, or really anything about ice skates, but luckily enough Ashley did, so it made it easier for him. After Chris had sent her dozens of pictures of ice skates, she directed him to a pair that would suit him.

C: _Which color do you think I should get?_

A: _Neon pink, duh :P_

C: _Remind me to never go to you for fashion choices :P_

A: _:P_

Chris decided on the blue variant of the ice skates they picked out and ordered them. The reciept that got sent to his email informed him that the skates should be arriving by Monday, giving him plenty of time to see if they fit. Chris turned his attention away from his phone and glanced up at the clock in front of him, and upon seeing it was already 9:47, he quickly texted Ashley that he had to leave since he was visiting Sam, keeping the details vague. Luckily, she bid him a good time and didn't offer to join him, making Chris let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want Ashley to find out anything about her surprise yet, although he'd have to remind Sam to not let any details slip either.

Chris rose from his desk chair and deposited his phone back into his pocket. He walked downstairs and collected his jacket and boots, bundling himself up. Chris walked outside, locked the door behind him, and walked to his car with the same pep as he had before.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! As always, I love writing these up! I'll cya all on Thursday for the next chapter!**


	17. Practicing with Sam

**Happy Thursday everyone! Here's the long awaited chapter of Chris starting practice with Sam! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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"So, yeah, I uh kinda fell asleep with Ashley and overslept" Chris said, feeling his face turn red as turned his head to face Sam. He had just arrived at Sam's house and was now sitting in a large, cushioned chair in her living room, with Sam sitting across from him on the couch. She had an amused look on her face as Chris explained to her why he couldn't come to practice yesterday, and couldn't help but smile at the reason.

"Just gimmie a heads up next time you plan on taking a nap with Ashley instead of practicing" Sam teasingly said to him, making Chris' face turn redder than it already was. "But that was really nice of you to stay" she continued. "You two really are meant to be together".

Chris smiled and nodded his head in agreement. It was amazing how much had changed between him and Ashley in the span of only a week. They went from awkwardly giving each other glances and wondering how long to hug each other for without it being weird to holding hands and saying I love you each day. Ever since Saturday, Chris found himself always smiling whenever he would hold Ashley in his arms, whether it be in either of their rooms, or in the busy hallways when he waited outside her classroom for her. And he could see Ashley's face light up when he appeared every morning at her door to pick her up. Chris could say with absolute certainty that he loved Ashley with all his heart, and she could say the same thing.

"Ya know, Ashley was actually going to confess her feelings for you at the lodge anyway" Sam said, breaking Chris' thoughts. But he immediately smiled when Sam said that, and was reminded of the index cards Ashley showed him in the bookstore. "I know" Chris said, the smile on his face growing as he tried to remember all the ideas Ashley thought of to confess her feelings.

"She was texting me all Friday, worrying about what you would say, if she should wait, how should she do it, I mean she really killed my phone's battery" Sam continued, and the two of them laughed. Even though Chris didn't know it for sure, he had a feeling that Ashley had talked to Sam about her crush on him, especially when Sam had asked him if he spoke to Ashley yet when they first got to the lodge.

"I'm gonna go make some tea and then we can start talking about Ashley's surprise" Sam said as she got up from the couch, motioning for him to follow her. Chris got up from the upholstered chair and followed Sam into the kitchen, eager to start practicing.

"You want anything?" Sam asked as the two of them walked into her kitchen. "I'm fine, thanks" Chris replied as he pulled a chair out from the table in the center and sat down in it. He took out his phone and began scrolling through his Twitter feed as Sam began to make tea for herself across from him.

"So, where were you thinking of having Ashley's surprise?" Sam asked a few minutes later, a red cup of tea in her hands as she joined Chris at the table. "I was actually thinking of doing at my house" he responded, putting his phone back in his pocket and looking up at her to see her response. "I know that Ashley doesn't like crowds, and we can both just wear normal clothes, so she won't get nervous about what to wear. Do you think she'll like it?"

Sam looked down at her tea and swished it in her cup as she thought it over for a few seconds, and then approvingly nodded, making Chris proud of his idea. "That's a good idea" she said, taking a sip of her tea. Chris smiled at hearing Sam's approval, and was filled with slight pride at coming up with the idea. "Plus, I won't have to get a million texts from her asking me what she should wear" Sam added, making the two of them laugh. "I'm definitely not cooking the dinner though" Chris said, fixing one of the buttons on his flannel. "The last time I tried to cook for Ashley, I almost burned my house down" he concluded, making the two of them smile.

"Got any ideas on what you guys are gonna have?" Sam asked, brushing her thumb against the cup's handle. "Promise you won't laugh?" Chris said, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly as he thought about it. "Fingers crossed" she replied, taking another sip of tea. "I was kinda thinking of making spaghetti for us, kinda like in Lady and the Tramp" Chris said, feeling himself blush as he told Sam his idea. When he looked to her for a response, Sam put her cup down and her hands up to her face, a large smile peeking through. "That's so adorable Chris! Ashley will love it, guaranteed!" she assured him, removing her hands from her face. Chris couldn't help but smile and blush as he thought about the idea.

"Alrighty, now that we have that settled, let's go to what we actually need to practice" she added, making Chris let out a sigh.

"Let's be real Chris, you have two left feet when it comes to dancing" Sam said, making the two of them laugh. Last year, the gang had a small get together at Jess' house in the summer, but it was so hot outside that they couldn't do anything in her backyard, and none of them had brought bathing suits so her pool was out of the picture. So, Jess naturally forced them all to play Just Dance, to the excitement of the girls, and to the misery of the guys. Of course, Jess also forced Chris and Ashley to dance together, which resulted in him falling over dozens of times, and the both of them blushing as Ashley helped him up.

"Yeah, I guess I do" Chris agreed, remembering back to last year's party. "Lemme finish my tea, and then we'll go clear out the living room so we have some space" Sam said, drinking more of her tea. After a few more minutes of small talk, Sam finally finished her tea, and got up from her seat to place the now empty cup on the counter. "Alrighty, let's go!" she said enthusiastically, and the two of them made their way back into her living room. The room itself already have a somewhat empty space in the middle, but the two of them still pushed some of the chairs against the wall for more dancing space. Once Sam had felt that the space was empty enough, the two of them joined into the middle, with Chris having no idea what to do.

"Sorry if I step on your feet, or ya know, break anything" he jokingly said, awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. Sam smiled and said "You wouldn't be here if you knew how to dance". They both smiled and she taught Chris the basics of dancing for around half an hour. Of course, he tripped a few times and even stepped on his own feet during it, but Chris tried the best he could to dance. Eventually, they both got tired, and decided to end their lessons for the day.

"Well, you definitely need practice" Sam teasingly said as they dragged the chairs in her living room back to their original place. "Pft, I'm practically a dancing master, I'm just testing your dancing skills" Chris responded, tugging at one of the chair's armrests. "Of course you are" she said, and the two of them smiled. Chris had put the last chair back in its place, and he plopped down in the chair. "Hey Sam, you sure Ashley's gonna like her surprise?" Chris asked, tapping his fingers against the chair's armrest.

"You want my honest opinion?" Sam began, clasping her hands together as she looked at him. "Ashley really loves you, and she's going to love anything you do for her" she said honestly. Chris absentmindedly nodded his head as he stared off into space, Ashley's surprise being his only thought.

"You're right, but I just don't want to ruin this. It'll be our first Valentine's Day together, and I don't want to make her uncomfortable or have her hate her surprise" he responded, voicing his concerns. "I just really don't wanna mess things up".

Sam couldn't help but laugh, making Chris turn his head to face her, a puzzled look on his face. "What?" he asked, wanting to know what he said was so funny to her. "Chris, are you joking? You told me that you two literally fell asleep together in her bed. She trusts you with anything" Sam said reassuringly. He thought over what Sam had just said, and began to see the humor in it. He was over thinking the surprise way too much. Chris couldn't help but smile and think of what Ashley would say if she saw him over thinking so much. She'd probably teasingly call him a geek and playfully hit him.

"You're right" Chris repeated, but this time, he was confident in saying that. Sam smiled in response as she unclasped her hands and leaned back onto her couch, the leather cushion squeaking beneath her as she shifted around. "But I still have to figure out what kind of music to play" he added. "I can't really help with that, sorry" Sam replied as she brushed away a stray piece of hair that had fallen out from her bun. "You should ask Jess though, I'm sure she'd love to help".

Chris pondered over Sam's suggestion and smiled when he thought of asking Jess for music to play during his date with Ashley. Before the lodge incident, Jess was always trying to get him and Ashley together, sending them on little missions by themselves to find items that she didn't need whenever the gang was at her house. But Jess meant well, so maybe she was somewhat qualified in helping Chris pick out music for his date with Ashley.

"Yeah, maybe" Chris said, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took his phone out and his face immediately lit up when he saw Ashley had just texted him. He unlocked his phone and opened up the messages app, completely forgetting that Sam was across from him. "Ashley, I assume?" she asked amusingly, unable to not smiling when she saw Chris' face light up. "Mh hmm" he absent mindedly hummed as he read Ashley's text message. Sam sighed and redid her hair bun as Chris texted Ashley back.

A: _Hey! How're things going with Sam?_

C: _Pretty good, just catching up on things_

A: _Cool_

A: _You think you can leave soon?_

C: _Yeah sure, is something wrong?_

A: _No silly :P_

A: _Just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out at my house for a bit and maybe grab lunch later_

Chris smiled to himself and looked up at the time on the top of his phone to see it was 11:02. He wasn't planning on doing anything else today, and since Sam had classes at 1, this was probably the best time for him to leave.

C: _Sounds great! I'll be over in like 20 mins_

A: _Awesome! :) Cya then!_

Chris deposited his phone back into his jeans' pocket and couldn't help but smile when he thought of hanging out with Ashley.

"Well you seem happy" Sam teasingly said as she finished making her hair bun. He turned his attention back to her and let out a small chuckle. "Yeah" Chris replied, his face turning a slight shade of red. "Hey, is it cool if I leave, I kinda want to hang out with Ashley" he admitted, pointing his thumb at the front door.

Sam smiled at Chris' enthusiasm to spend time with Ashley. "Sure thing" she replied, getting up from the leather couch and walking to the front door. Chris followed suit, and collected his blue parka and winter boots which he placed near the door. "Hey, what do you think of me hosting a party for the gang in a couple of weeks?" Sam asked as he kneeled down to tie up the laces on his boots. "It probably wouldn't be until close to the end of the month, and I'd have to get my parent's permission to host it, but I kinda want the gang to get together".

"I mean, if it's gonna be just the gang, then why not?" Chris replied, finishing the knot on his left boot and moving to tie his right. "I think it'd be nice for us to all get together instead of visiting each other separately" he added. Sam nodded as she leaned her head back against the wall, deep in thought. When he had finished tying up his lace, Chris patted his boot and stood up from the floor, all set to leave.

"Thanks a bunch for helping me Sam, and I'm sorry for bailing on ya yesterday" he said, his face slightly turning red. "It's fine, really" she replied, and brought him in for a quick hug.

"And uh, please don't tell Ashley about the surprise" Chris added as they separated. Sam smiled and made a motion of zipping her lips. "My lips are sealed" she assured him, making Chris smile. "Alright, well I guess I'll cya tomorrow on campus" he said, as the two of them turned around to face the front door. "Cya tomorrow! I'll text you when we can practice next" Sam replied as she opened up the door for Chris. He waved goodbye and stepped outside into the cold air, walking towards his car. "Say hello to Ashley for me!" she called out, peeking her head outside so Chris could hear her. "I will!" he called back, giving Sam a thumbs up as he continued walking.

As silly as it might have been, Chris couldn't help but whistle to himself as he walked down the sidewalk to his car. He unlocked his car and stepped inside, glad to be out of the cold. Chris started up the ignition and turned the radio on, a song he and Ashley had heard countless times now playing in the car. He buckled up and eagerly drove in the direction of Ashley's house with a smile on his face.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! As always, thanks a bunch for supporting my story, whether it be through a review or simply reading it! I'll cya all on Tuesday for the next chapter!**


	18. Relaxing with Ashley

**Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you're having a good week so far, and if not, maybe this chapter can bring your spirits up!**

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Chris loved winter. With winter came all the features that made his and Ashley's neighborhood look beautiful. From the way the snow coated the trees to the icicles that formed underneath the awnings of houses, winter always made things look amazing. The cold weather also meant that he and Ashley could cuddle together in their either of their rooms, although they would still cuddle no matter what season it was. But as the wind picked up and whipped around him, Chris could really go for some cuddle time with Ashley. He thought of this as he tapped his right foot on the brown welcome mat outside Ashley's house, waiting for her to open the door. Another minute had gone by of Chris rubbing his hands together and watching the occasional car drive by in the distance before he decided to knock again, assuming that Ashley was so engrossed in a Percy Jackson book or her schoolwork that she didn't hear the door. Just as he opened the screen door and was about to knock again, Chris heard someone unlock the door and it swung open, Ashley appearing on the either side, giving him a smile. She was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants, a red sweater and a pair of mismatched socks, and Chris couldn't help but smile back. Ashley looked like she was ready to hunker down for the day. "It's alright, mom, I've got it!" she called out behind her, turning her attention back to Chris.

"I'm so sorry! I was in the bathroom!" she apologized, taking Chris' hand and leading him out from the cold and inside the warm house. Even though his hands were a little numb, and his nose was cold to the touch, Chris felt himself warm up instantly when Ashley held his hand. "It's fine, I almost only became a Chris-icle out there" he replied, giving her a smile as he let go of her hand to take off his jacket. Ashley let out a giggle at Chris' joke, making his heart flutter slightly. It was probably the worst, cheesiest joke he had ever made, but she still found it funny.

"Come on, let's go warm you up" she cheerily said, walking upstairs as Chris placed his boots next to the front door. He happily followed Ashley up to her room, and couldn't help but let out a happy sigh when the two of them walked into her room. Her maroon curtains were pulled back, letting sunlight stream into the room. A Percy Jackson book was face down on the floor next to her bean bag chair, opened up to a page halfway in the book. Even though Ashley was generally a neat person, the blankets on her bed were somewhat disorganized, with her phone on one of them. As Chris briefly looked around at her room, he couldn't help but smile. He felt so comfortable here.

"Come on" Ashley said, sitting down on her bed and patting the empty space next to her as she put her phone in her pocket. Chris happily obliged, and walked over to Ashley, sitting down on the comfy bed. "Got anything planned for us?" he asked as Ashley grabbed the blanket closest to them. "Let's get you warm first" she replied, dragging the both of them down so they could lie in the bed. "I'm plenty warm with you" Chris cheesily said as Ashley draped the blanket over the two of them. She smiled in response and reached up to kiss him on the cheek, prompting him to smile as well. Chris wrapped his arm around Ashley's waist underneath the blanket as she rested her head on his chest, draping her arm around his waist as well. She let out a content sigh, and the two of them cuddled together, happy to be in each other's arms.

"You better not be falling asleep again" Chris teasingly said, turning his head to look at the girl he loved. "I'm not, I promise" Ashley replied, looking up at him and giving him a warm smile.

"So, what'd you at Sam's?" she asked, leaning her head back on his chest as she played with one of the buttons on his red checkered flannel. "She helped me start planning out what I'm going to do for you on Valentine's Day" Chris responded, smiling at her. As much as Chris didn't want Ashley to know about her Valentine's Day surprise, he couldn't lie to her about anything. Besides, he trusted Sam to not tell her about it.

"Don't do anything expensive, Chris" Ashley said, looking up at him with her beautiful green eyes. "Just being with you makes me the happiest girl ever" she genuinely added, giving him a warm smile. Chris looked back into her eyes and reached down to kiss the top of her head. The smile on Ashley's face grew even larger as she shuffled her head on Chris' chest to get comfortable again, wrapping her arms around him a little tighter.

"Feeling any warmer?" Ashley asked, relishing in the warmth of being in Chris' arms. "Yep, thanks to you" he replied, looking down to see a small smile on her face. Ashley shuffled around a little, and reluctantly picked her head up from Chris' chest to sit up in her bed, taking the blanket off of them in the process. "Alright, well I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate. Want some?" Ashley asked, folding the blanket that she just took off of them. "Sounds great" he responded, missing the warmth of being next to Ashley. Her bed was cozy, especially with the flannel sheets and warm blankets, but it wasn't as cozy without her. She let out a quick yawn and climbed over Chris, who was still lazily lying on her bed, her feet landing with a soft thud when they came in contact with the floor.

"Hey, do you think you could maybe stay for a bit and watch Netflix or something?" Ashley asked hopefully, looking at Chris with puppy eyes. He couldn't help but chuckle and let out a small laugh. He loved her so much. "Of course" Chris happily replied, making her face light up. "Want any help with the hot chocolate?" he offered, despite not wanting to get up from Ashley's comfortable bed.

"I'm fine, you stay here and keep my bed warm for us" she cheerily said, reaching over to kiss him on the cheek before leaving her room. As Chris heard Ashley's footsteps on the stairs, he took his phone out from his jeans' pocket and quickly texted him mom that he was staying over at Ashley's house for a bit. After a minute of waiting, she responded back with an " _Ok"_ , prompting him to put his phone back into his pocket. Chris let out a sigh and leaned his head back into Ashley's pillow, faintly hearing her make hot chocolate downstairs. As he waited, Chris rested on Ashley's bed, looking up at the ceiling as he thought back to the lodge incident. He couldn't help but hope that Josh was still alive, whether it be true or not. Maybe it was more along the lines of Chris not wanting to think of him being dead.

His thoughts were quickly broken however at the sound of Ashley's footsteps slowly coming upstairs. As she walked into her room, Chris rolled his head to the right and was greeted by Ashley's smiling face, making him immediately forget about any worries he had. The air was filled with the sweet, rich smell of hot chocolate, emanating from the two dark blue mugs she had in each of her hands.

"You're gonna have to move if we wanna watch Netflix" Ashley said with a chuckle, placing the two mugs on her nightstand. She proceeded to kneel down next to her bed, her head now level with Chris' as they looked into each other's eyes.

"You're thinking about the lodge, aren't you?" Ashley gently asked, reaching for his hand. "Yeah" Chris responded, lacing his fingers with hers. He didn't need to tell her about what, she already knew. "All we can do is wait Chris" she said honestly as she soothingly rubbed the palm of his hand with her thumb. "I know" he replied, nodding his head in agreement. Unlike the last time he thought of Josh, he wasn't going to cry, but he appreciated Ashley's support either way. Although the thought of Josh being dead pained him slightly, the thought of possibly having lost Ashley that night pained him the most. Sending Ashley a good morning text was part of Chris' daily routine now, and was the first thing he did upon waking up, even if he was going to be seeing her in a few minutes. Saying " _I love you"_ to each other had become natural to them. Chris never wanted to imagine possibly having lost the girl he loved that night. And he didn't have to.

"Alright, well let's go watch Netflix" Chris cheerily said with a smile, brightening the mood in the room. Ashley responded back with a smile just as large and reached for one of the mugs of hot chocolate as he sat up in her bed. "Hey, you're not wearing your brace" she commented, passing the blue mug in her hand to Chris. A puzzled look came across his face as he took the mug in his hands, looking down at his ankle. After picking up his pants' leg, he noticed that the black velcro brace he'd been wearing this entire week was absent.

"Huh, I didn't really notice it" Chris admitted as Ashley walked across her room to retrieve her laptop. "Guess I'm all good now" he added. "That's great!" she replied, climbing back onto her, laptop in hand. He brought the blue mug to his lips and drank the hot chocolate as Ashley opened up to Netflix, smacking his lips as he drank the warm liquid. "Parks and Rec?" she asked, struggling to grab the remaining mug on the nightstand. Chris reached over and grabbed the mug off the stand, handing to Ashley with a smile. "Sure" he responded as she graciously accepted the mug with a smile.

A few clicks later, Ashley loaded up Parks and Recreation to the episode they had left on when they last watched together. She let out a happy sigh and rested her head on Chris' shoulder, the two of them enjoying both the show playing on the laptop's screen, and the comfort that came with being with each other.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry that this chapter didn't have a whole lot of plot in it, but I wanted to make sure you guys got some good ol' Chrashley fluff! I promise that I'll include some more plot in the next chapter! Anyway, I'll cya all on Thursday for the next chapter!**


	19. Friday with Ashley

**Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and have a great day!**

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Chris groaned as his alarm clock blared across the room on his desk, signaling that it was 7:00 in the morning. It was finally Friday, which meant hanging out with Ashley after classes for a few hours, or until she had to go home for dinner. The worst part though, was actually getting through their classes. Chris and Ashley both had 3 classes on Fridays, meaning they were generally stuck on campus until 1 in the afternoon. The thought of having to stay on campus for hours made Chris groan in desperation again, but his spirits were lifted when he thought of playing video games with Ashley at his house for hours on end. Usually, they would hang out at the bookstore on Fridays, but this time, Ashley wanted to just hang out with Chris at his place.

Chris reluctantly began to wake himself up and lazily swung himself out of bed. He dragged his feet on the floor as he approached his alarm clock that was still blaring, pressing the snooze button to stop the obnoxious sound. Chris began his usual morning routine from there on out, first texting Ashley his usual good morning text, followed by a brief shower and changing into his Marvel hoodie and a pair of dark gray sweat pants to match. After applying a small amount of gel to his hair and combing his hair, Chris lazily walked out of the bathroom and into his room, where he put on his glasses and checked his phone. His face lit up when he read Ashley's good morning text back to him, a smile coming to his face. As silly as it might have been, Chris always looked forward to her text every morning.

He deposited his phone into his sweatpants' pocket and grabbed his black bag that was leaning against one of the legs on his desk. Chris slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way downstairs, setting his bag back down against the door as he put on his jacket. "I'm leaving for school now mom!" Chris called out as he finished tying his boots. "Alright sweetie, be careful driving!" she responded, her voice coming from the kitchen. "I will!" he promised, opening up the front door as he slung his back over his shoulder again.

Chris was met with a gust of wind upon walking outside, causing him to push up the collar of his jacket. It wasn't as cold as it was earlier in the week, but it was still cold outside. After locking his front door and closing the screen door behind him, Chris walked towards his car, the light layer of snow on the sidewalk crunching below him as he walked. He gladly unlocked his car and stepped inside, making sure to crank up the heat once he closed the car door. After placing his backpack in the backseat and rubbing his hands together to warm them up, Chris took the steering wheel and began driving towards Ashley's house.

5 minutes of driving through their neighborhood later, he pulled up in front of Ashley's house, making sure to park as close as possible. Chris put on the parking brake and was about to take his key out of the ignition when he glanced over to his right and saw Ashley coming out of her house, all dressed with her backpack on. He let go of his key and hopped out of his car, walking around to meet Ashley on the sidewalk.

"Hey" they said in unison, giving each other a smile. "I didn't keep you waiting, right?" Chris nervously asked, worried that he had maybe spent too much time in the shower. "Nope, I just set my alarm too early this morning" Ashley replied, making Chris sigh in relief. Once they approached his car, Chris stepped out ahead of her and held the car door open for her, bowing slightly.

"After you, m'lady" he cheesily said, making Ashley smile. "Why, thank you" she responded, reaching over to kiss him on the cheek before climbing into his car. Chris walked around the front of his car and climbed back inside as Ashley placed her own backpack next to his in the backseat. "Nice and warm in here" she said, reaching over to turn on the radio. "Mh hmm" Chris hummed in response as he pulled out of the parking space and began driving to their campus.

"Ready to play video games for hours on end tonight?" Ashley happily asked, her foot tapping to the tune of the music coming from the radio. "You bet" Chris replied enthusiastically, making Ashley smile. "Can we please not play any horror games though?" she added, a bit of hopefulness in her voice. "No horror games at all" he promised. Personally, Chris had no problem with playing a horror game every now and then, but he knew that Ashley hated anything scary, so he would gladly give up horror games for her.

"Hey, you wanna come with me to the mall tomorrow to shop for clothes?" Ashley asked as she turned her head to look out the window. "I kinda need a new hoodie and shorts since I threw out the ones from the lodge".

"Sure, I could use a new vest anyway" Chris replied as he slowed down at a red light. While he could actually use a new vest, Chris also wanted to get Ashley a gift for Valentine's Day, and he knew the exact place in the mall to find it. For the rest of the car ride, the two of them talked about a whole range of stuff, from Chris bringing up the party Sam might have to how they were going to skate on the lake Sunday. Chris was definitely a tad bit nervous about skating for the first time, but the thought of Ashley being there to help him made him forget all about his nervousness.

At long last, they finally arrived at their campus, and it was 7:36 when Chris parked his car in the mostly vacant student parking lot. He had just enough time to walk Ashley to her class, and still be on time for his own. "This looks like it came out of a horror movie" Ashley nervously commented, spotting only three other cars parked. "We don't have to go to our morning classes. We can go back to my house" she offered, her breath forming on the glass.

Chris smiled and unbuckled his seatbelt, reaching over to wrap Ashley up in his arms. "I'll protect you all the way to your class" he confidently said as she turned her head towards him, feeling her melt into his arms. "My hero" Ashley said with a warm smile, the two of them looking into each other's eyes. She couldn't help but feel safe and comfortable in Chris' arms. "I promise that no evil, dastardly squirrels will go near my lady" he jokingly promised, making Ashley giggle. She wrapped her gloved hands around Chris' neck and the two of them had goofy smiles on their faces with love in each other's eyes.

"I love you" Ashley softly said, making Chris' heart flutter slightly. "I love you too" he replied, tilting his head and leaning in to Ashley. She tilted her own head and the two of them shared a short, sweet kiss in the comfort and safety of each other's arms. A few seconds later, Ashley gently broke their kiss and the two of them looked at each other again, their faces slightly red.

"We should, uh, probably get going" Chris said, reluctantly unwrapping his arms around Ashley. "Yeah" she replied, already missing the warmth of being in his arms. Chris reached back into the backseat and took their backpacks, handing Ashley hers. With a sigh, he turned off his car's engine and the two of them got out of the warm car and into the vacant parking lot. As soon as Chris locked his car and put his key into the pocket of his jacket, Ashley walked over to him and slipped her hand into his, standing as close to him as possible. She gave him a small smile, prompting Chris to smile back and the two of them cut across the student parking lot to the cleared out path, walking towards the building where they both had classes.

After walking for a couple of minutes, they finally walked through the glass doors of the main building, happy to be inside where it was a little warmer. Together, they walked through the mostly vacant hallways, passing by the occasional sleepy eyed student until a few minutes later, they arrived at Ashley's English class.

"Alright, well, you all good?" Chris asked, gently letting go of Ashley's hand. "Mh hmm" she hummed in response, smiling at his concern for her. "Alright, I'll cya in a bit" he said, not wanting to leave her and go sit in a boring class for close to an hour. "Cya in a bit" Ashley repeated, reaching up to give him a quick peck on his lips. With a sigh, Chris turned around and began walking to his own class, glancing back to make sure Ashley was alright. She was leaning against the wall, scrolling through something on her phone. Upon seeing that she was alright, Chris continued on, walking up a flight of stairs in the direction of his class.

When he had finally arrived at his class, he discovered that most of his class was already inside the room itself, with his professor sitting down at his desk reading a book. Chris walked into the room and glanced up at the clock mounted on the wall behind him, seeing that it was already 7:55. Chris didn't really know a lot of the people in his class, and wasn't friends with any of them, so he decided to sit in the back of the room and browse his Twitter feed. After five minutes of scrolling through his phone, Chris' professor announced to his class to sit down, the sound of everyone talking in the room slowly dying down as everyone took a seat.

As soon as his professor began the lecture though, Chris felt himself zoning already. The droning of his professor's voice made Chris' thoughts wander to Ashley, thinking of the gift he planned on getting her. He really hoped that she'd like it. But as Chris looked up at the clock, he broke his thoughts, and began writing down some notes in an effort to pay attention to the lecture.

An hour of writing down notes and day dreaming about Ashley later, Chris' professor sat down in his seat, announcing to his class that they were dismissed. Chris happily threw his notebook back into his backpack and stuffed his pen into his sweatpants' pocket, eager to leave the room. He slung his bag over his shoulder and joined the stream of people leaving the classroom, when he looked ahead to see Ashley leaning against the wall.

"Hey!" she happily said with a smile, quickly walking over to him. "Hey" Chris responded, a smile coming across his own face as they met together in a hug. He could tell that from the way Ashley held onto him and nuzzled her head into his chest that she missed him, and Chris missed her just as much.

"Wanna go get something to eat at the coffee shop nearby?" Ashley offered as she gently separated from him. At the thought of finally getting a bite to eat, Chris' stomach growled, causing the both of them to laugh. "Yeah, that sounds great" he responded, and the two of them began walking through the halls to the exit, hand in hand.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! Like always, I love writing these chapters up, and I really appreciate your guys' support, whether it be from a follow/review to just simply reading each chapter! But anyway, I'll cya all on Tuesday for the next chapter!**


	20. Physics Class

**Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that this chapter can help brighten your day!**

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"A bagel for me, and a cinnamon bun for my cinnamon bun" Chris proudly said with the pastries in his hands as he sat down in their booth, making Ashley blush slightly. "Thanks" she said as Chris passed her the glazed cinnamon bun in his hands, happy to finally have time to eat something. The two of them both had their physics class in 20 minutes, and since the walk from the on campus cafe back to the main building was only around five minutes, it gave Chris and Ashley some downtime to enjoy each other between classes.

"So, what game did you wanna play tonight?" Chris asked before he took a bite of the freshly baked bagel in his hands. "Well" Ashley began in between bites of her cinnamon bun, "I was thinking of maybe Cities Skylines?" she concluded with a bit of excitement in her voice. "Sure" Chris replied, adjusting himself in the cushioned booth. "Wish we could play right now" he added, letting out a sigh. "Me too" Ashley responded glumly, resting her head in her hand. Chris couldn't help but smile at her eagerness to go home and spend time with him. He really loved her.

"At least we're together in our next class" Chris said hopefully, bringing a small smile to her face. "Thank goodness" she replied cheerfully, taking another bite of her cinnamon bun. As he let out a chuckle, Ashley couldn't help but smile a little as she turned her head to look outside. Unlike earlier this morning, the sun was now fully in the sky, no longer obscured by clouds. Pockets of students could be seen all across the campus, from those entering into the main building to those leaving in their cars or heading to the train station to go home. Ashley let out a sigh as she thought about how lucky she was. A week ago, she was pacing her room and stressing out about confessing her feelings to Chris, trying to think of every idea imaginable. And now, she felt so lucky to call him her boyfriend.

Ashley turned her head away from the window and back towards Chris, who was now browsing through his phone. She couldn't help but smile at thinking of how much she loved him. His jokes were the some of the cheesiest jokes ever made, but they always made her laugh. Even last week at the lodge, despite the creepiness of the basement, the small jokes he made here and there made her forget about any worries she had in that moment. Ashley loved him with her whole heart.

Her thoughts were broken as Chris put his phone into his pocket and looked up at her, a confused look on his face. "Something wrong?" he asked, making Ashley smile. "Just thinking about how much I love you" she replied honestly, finishing what was left of her cinnamon bun. Chris couldn't help but blush and smile himself, lovingly looking into her eyes. Ashley wiped her mouth with the napkin she was holding the cinnamon bun in and rolled it up, opting to throw it out when they left. As she placed the napkin on the side of the table, Chris reached over and took her now empty hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

"We should probably start going" Ashley reluctantly said, wanting to go home with Chris instead of going to class. "Yeah" he replied, looking up at the clock opposite them to see that it was already 9:48. He gently let go of her hand as they sat up from the booth, collecting their garbage with them. They deposited it in the trash bin near the door on the way out and Ashley slipped her hand back into Chris' as the two of them left the coffee shop, the tinkling of a bell sounding behind them as the door closed.

"Off to physics class" she said somewhat glumly as the two of them walked on the sidewalk back to the main building. "Hey, at least we'll be together" Chris cheerfully said, bringing a smile to Ashley's face as he lightly squeezed her hand. "You have no idea how grateful I am about that" she replied honestly, making the both of them smile. The two of them continued their walk back to the main building, excitedly talking about their video game night tonight, and enjoying each other the entire walk back.

After five minutes of walking, Chris and Ashley both arrived at the classroom where their physics class was always held. Lucky for them, their professor, Mr. Fox was already inside the room, alongside a number of other students. He was writing something down on a sticky note at his desk as the two of them entered into the class, but looked up from the note to see them enter into the class.

"Ah! How are my two favorite students doing today?" Mr. Fox piped up, glancing up from his note to greet them. "We're good" Chris replied with a smile as Ashley guided them to a pair of seats in the back of the classroom. They both really liked having Mr. Fox as a professor. He was a short, somewhat heavy set man in his 50s, with his hair starting to gray. He always loved joking around with his students, and gave them his respect, unlike a handful of other professors. Mr. Fox also let Chris and Ashley whisper to each other in the back of the room without bothering them, which might have been part of the reason why he was their favorite professor.

As Chris took out his messy notebook and placed it in front of him, he couldn't help but smile at how neat Ashley's was. There was nothing written on the cover of it, with sticky notes placed neatly in the corners of some pages, highlighting specific things. Her script was nearly flawless, and each page was filled to the brim with notes about each topic they went over so far. Although they both took academics seriously, Ashley was definitely the neater of the two.

Once he was all ready for the class to begin, Chris looked up at the clock to see they still had a few more minutes until the class began. He was about take his phone out to browse through his Twitter or Instagram when Ashley tapped him on the arm, holding her phone in one hand and her pair of pink earbuds in the other. "Wanna listen to some music?" she asked, offering him the left earbud. "Sure" Chris replied with a smile, scooting over to Ashley so they were now shoulder to shoulder. She smiled as she put in her own earbud and had her phone pick a song at random from her playlist. They both looked at each other and smiled as " _Life is a Highway"_ began to play from their earbuds. It was one of the first songs they heard together. Chris wrapped his arm around Ashley's waist, holding onto her tight. She couldn't help but lean her head a little on his shoulder, reaching for his hand which was in his lap. Ashley let out a content sigh as the song played out, happy to be with Chris. The room they were in was a little chilly, and their two hour physics class was the final thing preventing them from relaxing at Chris' house, but Ashley felt so happy and warm being close to Chris.

Just as the song ended and the final strum of a guitar sounded in Ashley's earbuds, their professor stopped writing and motioned for everyone in the class to take a seat. Chris took out the pink earbud in his ear, handing it to Ashley as she took out her own. She rolled up the pair of pink earbuds and stuffed them in her jacket pocket, sighing as she leaned her head in her hand.

"Ready for a boring two hour lecture?" Chris jokingly whispered to her as Mr. Fox began his lecture from his desk in the front of the room. "Boring? You probably recite physics formulas in your head for fun" Ashley teasingly whispered back, making the both of them smile. Chris turned his head back towards their rambling professor in the front of the room, with Ashley following suit. She let out a sigh and produced a pen from inside her bag, ready to write down as many notes as she could from the lecture.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! However, to give you guys a bit of a heads up, I'll be taking a break next week from writing up chapters for this story. I don't wanna burn myself out and have it affect the quality of each chapter, and I feel that without taking a break, that might happen. So as a heads up, there will be another chapter this Thursday, but there won't be any new chapters next Tuesday or Thursday. While I'm sure I could write something up and post it on those days, I'd rather skip those days and take a break rather than giving you guys low quality chapters. Don't worry, I haven't lost interest in this story, I just need to take a week's break to collect new ideas and relax to make sure I don't burn myself out. But anyway, I'll cya all on Thursday for the next chapter!**


	21. Gaming Night

**Happy Tuesday everyone! I'm really sorry that this chapter is being posted later than I usually upload them, as when I went to upload this chapter into the doc manager this morning, Microsoft Word didn't save the last part, so I had to hastily re-write as much of it as I can. I'm sorry that this chapter is definitely shorter than usual, but I wanted to make sure you guys got a chapter today. But anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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"What are you writing?" Chris asked, leaning over to view Ashley's notebook. With their professor wrapping up their lecture, Chris had stopped writing down any notes, satisfied with the amount of notes he had taken throughout the entirety of the lecture. Despite this, Ashley was still scribbling something down in her notebook, peaking Chris' attention. When she heard his question, a small smile appeared on her face as she titled her notebook towards him, allowing him a better view of what she was writing.

"I got bored, so I wanted to doodle" Ashley shyly replied, making sure to keep her voice low. Chris looked across the page of her notebook, trying to find something out of the ordinary, but all he could find were her usual notes. But when he glanced up and looked at the corner of the right page, he smiled. In the corner was a small drawing of a flower, with the pedals shaded in. For a quickly drawn flower, it was fairly detailed.

"Tsk, doodling instead of taking notes" Chris teasingly whispered, tilting Ashley's notebook back towards her. "Can't believe you're slacking".

"I took a lot more than you did" She replied in the same teasing tone, sticking her tongue out at him as she flipped through the several pages of notes she had written down over the course of the lecture. Although Chris thought his page and a half of notes was sufficient enough, it was nothing in comparison to Ashley's.

"That's my girl" he said, reaching over to quickly squeeze her hand, making her blush slightly. At long last, their professor announced the end of the class, to the excitement of everyone in the room, even those who were on the verge of sleeping. Chris and Ashley both began to pack their belongings, and filed out of the emptying classroom with the rest of the students.

"So, you ready to finally relax?" Chris asked as the two of them walked down the now busy hallway due to the influx of students from their class. "Yep!" Ashley cheerfully responded as she reached for Chris' hand, twining her fingers with his. The two of them walked through the halls of the main building, talking about their gaming night that they were both eager to start. Although Ashley had never been as interested in video games as Chris was, it meant spending time with him, so she would gladly play anything with him for a chance to just hang out.

After a five minute walk through the main building and across the snow covered campus lawn to the student parking lot, Chris and Ashley had finally arrived at his car. The two of them climbed in, cranked the heat up all the way, and after buckling his seatbelt, Chris drove off in the direction of his house, excited to spend the rest of the day playing video games with Ashley.

After fifteen minutes of talking and listening to the radio, they had finally arrived at Chris' house. As Chris pulled into the driveway, he glanced down at the car's clock positioned above the radio, reading that it was only 1:25. With smiles on their faces, the two of them got out from his car and made their way to his front door. As Chris fumbled around in his pants' pocket for his house key, Ashley climbed up the steps and held the screen door open for him.

"Hey, that's my job" he jokingly said as he produced his key out from his pocket. Ashley gave him a warm smile in response, causing him to smile as well. Chris unlocked the front door and the two of them stepped inside, letting out happy sighs as they entered into the warm house. They quickly hung up their winter coats on the rack nearby and placed their boots on the mat next to the door. With their backpacks slung over their shoulders, the two of them hurriedly walked upstairs to Chris' room, ready to settle down for an afternoon of fun.

Chris let out a happy sigh as he walked into his room, lightly tossing his backpack in the corner of his room near his desk. As Chris approached his desk to retrieve his laptop, Ashley took hers out from her backpack, tossing her mostly empty bag next to Chris'. She climbed on top of his bed and pushed some of the blankets to the side to make room for the two of them as Chris walked over to Ashley with his laptop.

He climbed onto his bed with Ashley, sitting across from her in the now cleared out space. The two of them began fiddling with their laptops, opening up the city building game they were both eager to play. Although, they would've been just as happy to sit down and spend time with each other. As they both loaded up the game, friendly, cheery music began playing from their laptops, and Chris couldn't help but smile. A week ago, he was still pining over Ashley, convincing himself that it was impossible she would ever like him back. And now, here they were together, comfy and cozy in his room and eager to spend time with each other.

"Come on, start the game you big goof" Ashley jokingly said, breaking Chris' thoughts. He smiled in response and focused his attention back to the screen in front of him, where he loaded up a game for the two of them. As they began playing their game, both Chris and Ashley got comfy on his bed, happy to be with each other.

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 **Thanks for reading this chapter! Once again, I'm sorry that it's shorter than usual. Also, don't forget that there won't be any new chapters next week as I'll be taking a break from writing this to relax and think up new ideas. On an unrelated note, I've been getting interested in How to Train your Dragon again, so I may start up another story about HTTYD around Hiccup and Astrid's relationship. It's just an idea for now, but that might be something I want to pursue writing. But anyway, I'm off to relax, and I'll cya all next Tuesday!**


	22. A Lazy Morning

**Hey gu-. Wait. This can't be right. An update on this fanfiction? It can't be. The author of this, RomanRuler, yeah he's a jerk. He never finishes up those chapters he said he would. Kidding aside, that break I took lasted a bit longer than I said, huh? Truth of the matter is, I lost interest in my story. I just didn't have the same spark as when I first started up this story, and I felt like I was just writing just for the sake of writing. I felt that the chapters were becoming mundane and they were all starting to look exactly like the previous chapter, just in a different setting. And then with work ramping up, free time always gets limited, but I digress. I wanna start this Chrashley fanfiction up again, but I can't keep up the pace that I was able to in the summer. I felt that I was writing chapters to meet a deadline, rather than writing them for you guys or even myself to enjoy. Recently, I started writing up a new fanfiction, and it took me around a week and a half to complete, despite it only being around 2.5-3k words. But I really liked that story, and I felt that I dedicated time to it rather than just throwing words together on a page and clicking submit. So to that end, yes I will be re-starting my Chrashley fanfiction. But this time, I'm not going to give a set time on when I'm going to update it. I won't do another long drought where there won't be an update for months, but I don't want to pressure myself with setting up a deadline. I wanna write up this chapters for mine and your guys' enjoyment, and I feel that having a set deadline didn't really accomplish that.**

 **Alright, well enough of my sob story and onto this actual chapter. This chapter has absolutely nothing to do with any of the previous chapters. This is actually adapted from a fanfiction/story I recently posted, (the one I talked about earlier. I know, shameless plug) except I ripped out parts of that one and tried to input Chrashley moments into this one. With that in mind, if you see anything that was never mentioned before randomly come up, it's probably a part of the original story that I forgot to take out, so I'm sorry about that. It's by far not my best work, but I'm hoping you guys enjoy it all the same! As always, I'm honored whenever you guys take time out of your day to simply read my story. And, as a side note, I really wanna thank anyone who supported my Chrashley fanfiction up to now, and maybe still does. I genuinely appreciate that you bothered to stick with me. Alright, if I don't watch it, this author's note is gonna wind up being longer than the actual chapter. Any criticisms, reviews, comments, suggestions, whatever you guys might wanna say is always greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy this long awaited update, and without further ado, onto the story!**

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Ashley let out a groan as she woke up, hearing the pattering of rain against the window outside. It was an unusually cool, rainy October day in New York, and she was in no mood to wake up.

" _5 more minutes"_ Ashley groggily thought to herself as she rolled over and snuggled next to Chris, instantly smiling.

It had been about a year and a half ever since the whole lodge incident involving Josh and the Wendigos happened. It was also a year and a half ago when Chris and Ashley had finally confessed their feelings for each other and begun dating. Ever since then, they had spent a lot more time together, invoking a lot of teasing from their friends. It's not that they hadn't spent a fair amount of time together prior to the lodge incident, but everything kinda changed after the lodge. They still joked around and playfully teased each other every now and then, but there was a much more caring, loving atmosphere between them. They no longer had to skirt around their feelings and pretend to just be friends, and they were both glad that was finally over.

As a result, Chris and Ashley decided to purchase a decently sized house with the money they saved college scholarships, as well as their parents' own help with the money. Even their friends decided to chip in and help them out. It was only about an hour drive from their house to New York City, a feature of the house that Ashley especially loved. Despite her generally shy personality, she loved the city, with all the different people and cultures helping her think of essay and book ideas for her classes. Also, there was a Starbucks, Dunkin', or some form of a coffee shop on every block, so that helped to satiate her desire for coffee. And with so many places to go and visit, her and Chris would always go on a date to the city at least once a week. While it was usually just to walk around Central Park, Ashley still loved their early evening walks.

Ashley frowned as she heard the wind whip against the side of the house and the rain get heavier outside. She snuggled a bit closer to Chris and pulled the blankets closer to her, relishing in the warmth. _"Maybe Chris and I can take the day off?"_ Ashley thought to herself as she gently placed her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It was a cold, wet day after all, and Ashley loved nothing more than lazy days with Chris. And the weather outside definitely called for a lazy day. Her thoughts were broken by Chris shuffling about as he began to wake up himself. He let out a small yawn and looked down at Ashley.

"Morning Ash" he said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Morning" Ashley replied, smiling up at Chris as well. She shifted herself around so that her body now faced Chris, and snuggled her head back onto his chest "Sorry if I woke you up"

"It's alright, you didn't wake me up" Chris responded, a reassuring smile on his face. "Besides, we need to start getting up anyway" he added, nodding his head in the direction of the alarm clock on the nightstand. Their classes started at 10:30, and when you took into account the thirty minute drive to the campus, they generally had to get up at around 8:00-8:30. Ashley glanced over, saw the clock read 8:23 AM, and rested her head back comfortably on Chris's chest, signaling she really was in no mood to get up.

"Hey, do you think we could maybe take the day off?" she asked, looking up at Chris. "It's a pretty bad day out, and we haven't taken any days off from our classes yet, so we definitely could". Ashley looked up at Chris hopefully, waiting for his response.

"Well, it is a pretty bad day out" Chris agreed, wrapping an arm around Ashley's waist to pull her in closer. "And besides, I can't say no to you"

Ashley smiled up at him and quickly kissed his cheek, making him smile in response.

The two of them leaned back into the bed and Chris nuzzled her neck, gently kissing the nape of her neck. Ashley giggled as Chris's kisses tickled the back of her neck, making the both of them smile. Once Chris decided she was sufficiently tickled enough, he leaned back into the bed and stretched.

"Alright, well just because we're taking the day off doesn't mean I'm not going to shower" Chris said with a smirk, slowly getting out of their bed. Ashley responded with a small smile back and stretched as Chris headed off to the bathroom.

"I'll go make us breakfast while you're taking a shower!" she called out to Chris, getting out of the bed herself. "Bacon and eggs sound good?"

"Yep!" he said through the door. Ashley stretched one more time and changed out of her pajamas and into a fresh set of clothes, which included a pair of fuzzy pajama pants as well as one of Chris's hoodies, which was just a little big on her. After putting on her final article of clothing, Ashley pocketed her phone, took her glasses off the nightstand, and headed downstairs.

"Jeez, it's cold" she said to herself as she walked down the stairs, pulling the hoodie closer to herself. Ashley went over to the thermostat and passed by a sleeping Sparky, who looked comfortable and snug in her dog bed.

Sparky was a golden labrador that Ashley and Chris decided to get upon moving to New York. She was a calm, temperate, peaceful dog, who never bit and rarely barked. In fact, they had never actually heard Sparky bark since they got her. If you asked them why they got Sparky, Chris and Ashley would both say it was to keep one of them company while the other was in class, or by walking her to help out with exercise. The actual excuse, however, was that they simply just wanted a dog.

After raising the heat a little, Ashley quickly used the downstairs bathroom and lazily walked over to the kitchen, where she took out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon from the fridge. Once the oven was on, she got to work getting breakfast ready, taking out her phone and putting on music from her iTunes playlist while she cooked breakfast. A couple of songs later, however, Ashley heard a patter of footsteps in the kitchen and looked up from her phone to see Sparky walking up to her, happily panting.

"Hey baby" Ashley cheerfully said as she put her phone down on the kitchen table to play with Sparky's fur. She happily panted in reply, and nuzzled Ashley's hand, trying to bring her attention to something.

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Ashley asked as she lead Sparky outside, making sure to keep an eye on the oven. "Be quick though, it's raining". One bathroom break later, Ashley lead Sparky back inside the house and fed her, turning her attention back to the food on the stove. After a few more minutes of cooking, Ashley turned off the stove and brought the pan of cooked bacon and eggs over to the counter when Sparky's head immediately perked up. Ashley laughed as Sparky mosied her way over to the counter to get a better smell at the freshly cooked bacon.

"Aww, sorry baby, but this isn't for you" Ashley told Sparky with a sympathetic smile as she nudged her. The golden furred dog cocked her head to the right and looked up at Ashley in confusion before returning her attention to the pan of meat on the counter. Ashley simply smiled and sighed at Sparky's persistence in wanting the bacon.

"Alright girl" She began, pushing the pan of bacon a little further on the counter to ensure that Sparky couldn't reach it. "If you sit down and be a good girl, I'll give you a treat". At hearing this, Sparky gave up on her attempts at the bacon and sat down on the kitchen floor, patiently looking up at Ashley. She let out another laugh before retrieving a dog treat from one of the cabinets in the kitchen for Sparky, much to the dog's delight. Just as Ashley gave Sparky the treat, Chris walked into the kitchen, wearing a flannel shirt and pajama bottoms himself, his hair slightly messy from the shower.

"Oh, I see how it is" Chris said, feigning hurt on his face. "You care more about Sparky than me". Ashley laughed and walked over to Chris, a smile slowly appearing on his face. Chris wrapped his arms around her waist and Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, the two of them smiling at each other.

"Sparky's definitely cute, but I love you" Ashley genuinely said softly, leaning her forehead against Chris's.

"I love you too" Chris replied genuinely in an equally soft voice. Almost as if on cue, the current song playing from Ashley's iPhone ended, and was replaced with "Rhythm of Love", causing the both of them to blush slightly. Both Ashley and Chris turned their attention back towards each other, and the smiles on their faces grew larger as their lips met and they shared a simple, sweet kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but Ashley cherished every second. In that moment, everything was perfect, and the only thing that mattered in the world was the two of them.

Chris was the one who gently broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against Ashley's. The two were slightly red and flushed from the kiss, with large goofy smiles on their faces.

"Nice hoodie" Chris teased her, glancing down at the hoodie Ashley was wearing.

"Shh" she replied, letting out a small laugh. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips and leaned her head back against Chris's.

They had stayed like that for a few seconds, lovingly looking at each other as "Rythm of Love" finished playing in the background. Chris quickly kissed the top of her head before they gently separated, heading over to the breakfast on the kitchen counter.

" It looks really good!" he commented as he took out a plates for himself and Ashley and placed the bacon and eggs on them.

"Thanks" Ashley replied as she sat down at the table. Chris carried the pair of plates back to the kitchen table, placing one in front of Ashley and one in front of the spot where he planned on sitting. The two of them then ate breakfast, talking about a variety of things, from their friends to date ideas they had for each, all while cheery music played from Ashley's iPhone. Occasionally, Sparky would approach either Chris or Ashley and place her head in their lap, in an attempt to get some of their breakfast. While she failed to obtain any bacon, Sparky received a healthy petting from the both of them, which she happily accepted anyway. Around thirty minutes later, both Ashley and Chris had finished breakfast, with Chris carrying their dishes to the sink. Opting to wash them now and not have to do them later, Chris set out to scrubbing.

As Chris was washing the pair of plates, Ashley decided to check the weather for the day, in the hopes that the rain would clear up. However, she let out a disappointed sigh as the rain and wind wasn't predicted to let up until later on that night. " _Sounds like a hot chocolate day"_.

"Hey, I'm gonna make hot chocolate, you want some?" Ashley asked as she approached the Keurig next to Chris.

"Hot chocolate? Not Dunkin'?" he asked over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.

"Anyone who goes out in this weather for a cup of coffee from Dunkin' needs to cut down on their coffee addiction" she replied, mirroring his smile.

Chris chuckled and said "Yeah, I'll have some hot chocolate. Thanks". With that, Ashley began to make the two of them hot chocolate, producing two mugs from the cabinet for them: a navy blue mug with stars depicted on it for Chris, and a white mug with a cardinal depicted on it for herself. Within 5 minutes, Chris had finished cleaning up and the sweet smell of hot chocolate could be smelled in the kitchen. Ashley handed Chris the navy blue mug, which he accepted with a smile and she grabbed her own. The two of them then proceeded to walk into the living room, with Sparky following close behind. Chris placed their mugs on the table near the couch as Ashley went upstairs to quickly grab a blanket, coming down with a large enough one for the two of them.

Both Ashley and Chris sat down on the couch together and cuddled as they searched for something to watch on Netflix, browsing through the various shows. Eventually, they settled on The Office, as they agreed that it was too early in the day for anything too actioned oriented and Ashley didn't particularly like anything horror related. Ashley let out a content sigh as Chris wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in, letting her rest her head on his chest. Ashley wrapped an arm around Chris in return and the two of them happily cuddled on the couch as the opening theme to The Office began to play from the TV. They had both already seen this episode, but Ashley didn't care. She was happy just spending time with Chris, and he could say the same.

Out in the corner, Sparky was comfortably resting back in her dog bed, keeping herself busy with one of the dog toys that was located in the pile near her bed. Ashley couldn't help but smile as she thought about the cold, mucky weather outside, and how she was cuddling with Chris, happy and warm.

Ashley scooted a little closer to Chris and rested her head comfortably on his shoulder, causing him to gently lean his own head against hers. Ashley heard the roar of the wind pick up outside and Chris reached over to make sure she was covered up with the blanket, wanting her to be comfy and warm. Ashley couldn't help but smile and turned her head slightly to face Chris.

"I love you" she said, looking up at him lovingly. Chris turned his head to face Ashley and gave her a smile.

"I love you too" he responded, kissing the top of her head. The two of them turned their attention back to the TV, smiling and enjoying each other's company. It may have been a cold, miserable day outside, but inside their house, Chris and Ashley were warm, content, and, most of all, they loved each other with all their heart.

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 **Thanks so much for reading this chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it! Just to recap, I will be re-starting this fanfiction/story, and I'll have the next chapter pick up where we left off on, which I quite frankly can't remember. Guess it's time for myself to re-read all these chapters again. Like I said earlier, I'm not going to put a set date/time on when I'll be updating this fanfiction, so make sure to just keep an eye on it from time to time. I promise I won't pull a Houdini and disappear for months at a time. As always, any critics/suggestions/ideas you might have for this chapter and future ones are always appreciated! I hope you all have a good day/afternoon/evening!**


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